what is this art stuff?

here's something i wrote up for some application once- it pretty much sums up my answer to the question.

i believe that there is a universality to human nature; the aspects that humans share stem from the fact that we are all born into a world in which certain questions arise, certain mysteries exist, and certain experiences are inevitable. Many of us share a sense of something greater than ourselves, perhaps a meaning for our lives which we know exists and strive to find. This meaning, this essence of life, trancends space and time and thus so does our search; our intuition prompts us to think about our lives in a greater context, and our imagination articulates what we think.

Art, including literature, is a product of this articulation. I have a great respect for the power of the written work; i believe that manipulating words is an art form.