DINTY MOORE: I think I have two answers to that. One of them is that if you go into insurance, you could start your own business, if you go into government, if you go into the nonprofit sector, if you're working in hospital administration, you're going to be writing.
And being able to write clearly is how you-- especially as you get higher up the ladder-- I've worked in business, I've worked in other things-- as you get higher up the ladder, being able to communicate clearly to the people who work for you or to your customers or what depends on what business you're in is important. And that's often a determinant of who gets the promotion, who becomes the vice president.
So even if you have no interest in writing and ideas for the pure joy of it, I think it's an important thing to focus on. But I also think, even if you don't want to be a writer, it's good to be able to think critically. It's good to be able to make sense of the world you live in. It's a fascinating, complicated world we have.
And books give you-- you only have one life. You were born somewhere. Let's say you were born in the United States. You'll never know what it was like to be born in China, because you were born in the United States. You'll never know what it was like to be born in Mexico. You'll never know what it's like to be born a girl, if you happen to be male.
But books, you can live 100 different lives and feel 100 different experiences. And I also think it makes you more able to empathize with other people. So I believe reading and film and storytelling are important for that reason, not just for students who want to go on and be writers.