Reality . . . check.

A vocal moment of silence:
There's a huge dose of reality abounding in the world. I can't begin to say how incomprehensible and heartbreaking the results of the Tsunami in Southern Asia are. I am incapable of empathizing or relating, but I commend the efforts of those giving and serving. I have no basis of knowledge to share or be helpful, so I'm not going to even attempt to blog relevantly on the matter or compete with the work of the SEA EAT Bloggers.
___________________________________________________________________

It is no wonder that fiction outsells non-fiction. Even the words, communicate fiction's preferential treatment in society - like factual and historical novels are the "other" section when it comes to bookstores which are mostly just purveyors of fiction. (Note, however, that Bob Dylan's current book Chronicles Volume 1 is so good you'd think they were fiction). The important role that fiction plays in our lives can't be overlooked, and it hit me while reading on the subway yesterday:

Every fairy tale offers the potential to surpass present limits, so in a sense the fairy tale offers you freedoms that reality denies. In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality they present, their is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life, an essential defiance. This affirmation lies in the way the author takes control of reality by retelling it in his own way, thus creating a new world. -Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran

My adult life had, until now, always been my own work of fiction. The Hollywood version of reality. And now, here I am, creating my own masterpiece of non-fiction (certain NOT to be shelved near Dylan's). So then, I've figured it out, and I'd like to choose fiction, please. I'd like the show to go on. Yet here I am, in an unfulfilling job, not only with underutilized potential, but ceased dreams. What would Langston Hughes say ?