I love Philip Pullman.  In the His Dark Materials trilogy, he creates marvelous characters (Lyra!) and breathes life into their humanity.

Philip is a writer.  I am a writer.  Philip’s books have been embraced by millions of human beings and have won many awards.  I write on Facebook nearly every day to an unknown group of readers.

And … we are writers

Teens and grandparents know Philip.  And so do literary critics:

Through his strong characters, he stands firmly on the side of young people, ruthlessly questioning authority and proclaiming humanism and the power of love whilst maintaining an optimistic belief in the child even in the darkest of situations.

Well said, my friend.  I stand with you

Here’s a passage from Dæmon Voices, Philip’s book about writing:

And there is a joy too in responsibility itself – in the knowledge that what we’re doing on earth, while we live, is being done to the best of our ability, and in the light of everything we know about what is good and true.  Art, whatever kind of art it is, is like the mysterious music described in the words of the greatest writer of all, the “sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not”.  To bear the responsibility of giving delight and hurting not is one of the greatest privileges a human being can have, and I ask nothing more than the chance to go on being responsible for it till the end of my days.

“Giving delight and hurting not”

Flows towards a life well lived