I found this quote in my 8th grade journal:

"Art to an artist is simply Life, his life, of which he has an amplitude and intensity unknown to us. What his art does for us is thrill us awake to the amplitude and intensity of all life, our own included."

- From Wilderness: a Journal of Quiet Adventures in Alaska by Rockwell Kent

This passage encompasses what I was trying to say yesterday during our discussion about writers, the gift and ability of writers, and one of the reasons for writing/reading.