Thanks Lauri- I love Baldwin quotes and here is another from his Paris Review interview:
Similar to the one you quoted, I think this is a good answer to the question what is the purpose of stories- the purpose for the writer, anyway---
"When you are standing in the pulpit, you must sound as though you know what you’re talking about. When you’re writing, you’re trying to find out something which you don’t know. The whole language of writing for me is finding out what you don’t want to know, what you don’t want to find out. But something forces you to anyway."
Thanks Lauri- I love Baldwin quotes and here is another from his Paris Review interview:
Similar to the one you quoted, I think this is a good answer to the question what is the purpose of stories- the purpose for the writer, anyway---
"When you are standing in the pulpit, you must sound as though you know what you’re talking about. When you’re writing, you’re trying to find out something which you don’t know. The whole language of writing for me is finding out what you don’t want to know, what you don’t want to find out. But something forces you to anyway."