The words that stay...

I sometimes forget the power of the written word.  The power it has on me.  Human interaction is amazing but there are many people we simply cannot interact with.  The written word allows us to transcend time and space.

I cannot say that other forms of art don't have a similar effect, yet I find the lyrics and the screenplay move evocative then the melody or performance.  As with all art, appreciation and interpretation is personal.  However, the written word has a clarity I do not find in other media.  Its creator can limit the interpretation.  The writer uses one of humanities most powerful tools and so can often deliver their thoughts more directly.  Yet the nuance of language, its fluidity, allows great depth to be captured.

The words that stay have had several forms from the engraved, to the penned, to the inked, to the alignment of bits.  But I do believe that the form is of no consequence.

The experiences of a work's original readers may vary greatly from the experience of its latest.  However, the written word binds its readers.  It allows experience and context to be explained.  The author to describe as much or as little of their circumstances as they choose.  It may not translate in all cases, but that simply limits its audience and in some cases encourages further inquiry.

But the written word has a power greater than all other forms of art.  It expands upon the power of its older sibling the spoken word.  It can relate fact as well as fancy.  Obviously a collection of dates and statistics lacks artistry, but facts need not be so dry.  Accounts of the lives of our predecessors can both educate and inspire.  Thoreau's most recognized works were not fiction.  As with other art, investigation can yield other data.  We learn of techniques, processes, and can gain historical insight from frescoes as well as novels.

The written word also has some of the immediacy of its older sibling.  Inspiring oratory has had a dramatic effect on our civilization as have inspiring essays.  In some cases, the two are distinguished only by audience as evidenced by the great speeches.  Some of their evocative power cannot be captured in ink, but much of it can.

Mass communication now allows the spoken word to be experienced by billions but it remains ephemeral.  This is changing and so the spoken word may soon be on equal footing with the written word.  I believe the written word will still remain the most powerful tool we have for expression.

But then again, I'm hardly objective.