The Time Machine and the Domaine

Book excerpt: Why have so many cultures created what we call imaginative literature in the past, and still do? What prompts so many people to read literature? And how are we to understand the economy that links these producers and consumers? These and related questions plagued the author for a couple of decades before he began to set down the results of his research into the roles and functions that creative writing has had in various societies. More and more, the evidence seemed to point towards our feelings about the effects of time on our lives, and our memories of special places that enchanted or changed us. He illustrates his findings by examining a wide range of literary artifacts.