Along with satisfying the basic requirements for survival, human beings seem driven to express their varied natures through individual or collective acts of imagination. This urge to create seems to be an essential part of the nature of homo sapiens; in fact, this desire to express our innermost thoughts through conscious ventures of originality sets us apart as a species from the rest of creation.
Long before the development of written language, our ancestors gave expression to their yearning to perpetuate their beliefs through the medium of graphic art. Did the oral tradition in literature also have its origins in that dimly understood time? Did our progenitors raise their voices in song, play upon the first musical instruments, or move in the steps of some long-forgotten dance while some of their number mixed their colors and painted upon faintly lit walls deep within the bowels of the earth? How closely are the origins of the arts bound to the emergence of religion? Was the creation of art an act of worship? Is it still so, although many an artist may deny it?
As the human race evolved and civilizations arose in a number of sites across the continents, the canons governing the arts changed too--some would say that they continue to be modified to satisfy the ever-altering needs of human kind. The ways in which the several arts influence our lives seem to vary with each generation, but the fundamental need to create remains an essential part of our nature--this is the absolute that has remained constant for countless centuries.
The creative urge must be spontaneous and unfettered; when institutions and societies attempt to restrict or openly control artistic invention the resulting product is soulless and sterile. While religion can inspire great art and sublime music, the intrusion of strict orthodox dogma into the artistic impulse will destroy it, or at best cripple the talents of the artist. Government sponsored art which ignores the freedom of the artist rarely results in anything but the grotesque or the ridiculous. In societies where the arts are actively encouraged and supported, and the creator is completely free, a vibrant culture is the result. In such communities the arts speak with many voices; the reaction of the professional often differs in many ways from that of the layman, but each in its own way has value, because to each the arts have significance.
To experience completely the sum total of human creativity the visual and the auditory must not be omitted. Unfortunately this volume must be devoted exclusively to the written word--probably the last form of artistic expression to be fully developed. Poetry in its varied forms arose from the tradition of vocally transmitted literature that was a part of all cultures. With the development of written language the oral heritage declined and was replaced by a number of poetic forms ranging from the epic to the lyric. Their themes are varied, ranging from the acts of deities and humans who brave fate, to religious ecstasy, the commemoration of nature, and even the celebration of the joys of earthly love. The men and women who explore these topics represent every class and condition.
In drama, auditory sensation is joined with visual sensation and the written word to produce a compound which often proves as entertaining as enlightening.
Its origins may lie in the mysteries of religion, and its power to instruct is as diverse as any sermon. Through laughter or catharsis the audience becomes one with the actor and the author--an association which is often mutually beneficial. The marriage of music with drama in the Renaissance resulted in the birth of opera and a new tradition of human achievement which is a feast for all the senses.
The novel was a significant literary form which assumed its modern prototype at the same time that opera was evolving. Through fiction the writer is able to provide the reader with vicarious romance, adventure, suspense, or terror. In the hands of a master, the novel is a tool for instruction as well as entertainment. Closely akin to the novel as a work of fiction is the short-story, a literary genre where impact upon the reader is not compromised by either brevity of length or economy of expression.
In the exchange of words and ideas among humans lies the essence of education with its attendant joys and frustrations. The essay is a dialogue between the writer and the reader, who for a brief time is assigned the role of student. The subject of an essay is circumscribed by human experience, and while it may follow a series of rules, the method of the executing these canons is often at the discretion of the author.
Imagination and creativity constitute an ideal combination in which the latter follows the former in a kaleidoscope of responses limited only by the creator. In the infinite number of poems, dramas, novels, and essays produced by countless cultures lies part of the rich heritage of the human race. These products of inventiveness know neither time nor race; they are our common heritage, our common glory.
Clifton W. Potter Jr.