The quest for fact and meaning.

I don't like to memorize facts. Or poetry. Or stuff. I'd rather know where to find the facts. And as for poetry, I wanna be able to understand the meaning. In my own words. Rather than the poet's. That's the important thing. How the poem or short story or novel affects me. Directly. Used to be in high school English class, I was required to recite a poem from memory. Just words. That's not good enough for me. It's a waste of time. Unless I truly understand what I'm spouting. The poet's words aren't enough. I wanna be able to give my take. My meaning. It may be different than what the poet intended. Which is all right. Because I'm putting myself into someone else's written thought. Another thing. About facts. Facts are often elusive. And open to interpretation. The same set of facts may have very different meanings for different people. Because they come at the facts from different perspectives, different experiences. --Jim Broede