poetry of life in literature and through literature, and the vast territory in between - as vast as human life itself - where they interact and influence each other, is the nerve of human existence. whether we are aware of it or not, we are profoundly dissatisfied with the stark reality of lifes swift progress onward, and the enigmatic and irretrievable meaning of the past. and so we dramatise our existence, probing deeply for a lyrical and heartfelt yet universally valid sense of our experience. it is in great works of literature that we seek those hidden springs that so move us. it is in honour of this search that this collection focuses on the creative imagination at work in literature and aesthetics.