What is literature?

I should probably start saying hello and welcome to new semester. The second part of this will be dedicated to American Lit II.

I'm sure literature is very different to everyone. Being an English major, literature is extremely important to me. It's a connection to everyone in the world. It's a way to express our own personal thoughts and feelings. It helps us to feel less alone in the world. It helps us to understand our surroundings. It's an escape from the dullness of human routine. To you, it may be something completely different from any of the things that just happened to cross my mind.