I was checking out the latest issue (61/Ten-Year Anniversary) of an e-zine I read in regular binges, The Pedestal Magazine, and I had to bring the editor’s letter to his readers to your attention.

I’ve written before about why I write, why I read and the value of the Arts to me, personally, and to Society as a whole. John Amen’s articulations on the subject so closely mirror my own, I confess I got a little misty: “. . . art saves lives. It saved mine when I was a teenager. If I had not somehow believed in the importance of creative expression, I would not have had anything tethering me to life itself. That I could write (or paint or make music) was paramount to me; it was everything, in a way. It was a redemption.”

I want to quote his next paragraph too–and the next. Instead, however, I refer you to the Readers’ Message in its entirety. I hope you find it as inspiring, affirming, and challenging as I did.