I’ve pilfered the title of this post from one of George Orwell’s essays. I’d once studied an anthology of his writings in class, and I’d been drawn by the precision of his use of language: what he himself called his ‘facility with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts.’ Though I scarcely agree with all his views expatiated in his various works, the straightforwardness of the intention behind “Why I Write” appealed to me both then and now. Orwell lists and elaborates on what he believes are the ‘four great motives for writing’, and while I can’t hope to emulate his characteristic lucidity (nor do I intend to), I…
