In the movie Dead Poets Society, Professor John Keating, played by actor Robin Williams, speaks of this passion: . . . You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can teach the world. We don't read and write poetry because it is cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering — these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love — these are what we stay alive for.

John Keating, Finding What You Didn't Lose by John Fox