Writing: The Keeper of Memory

Societies desire permanence and remembrance, using writing as a tool to preserve memory and combat the ephemeral nature of the past. Early texts functioned like musical scores, facilitating public performance rather than private consumption or oral replacement. Just as jazz musicians improvise on familiar tunes, bards creatively varied the songs they performed. Writers were tasked with selecting and refining the most exquisite versions of these songs to ensure their survival through time.