yes, I aggree with Annalisa and would suggest that the person she refers to is Frank Kermode who understood classic books to yield new meanings over time...see _The Classic_ by Frank Kermode isbn 0 674 13398 6 (*) On Wed, 15 Apr 1998, Annalisa Baicchi wrote: > Will, you asked what makes a writer a great writer. > Someone said (I cannot remember who, but i'm sure it was a writer) that a > classic is a book which hasn't exhausted yet to say all the things it > wanted to say. Isn't this a great definition for great writing? Otherwise > we > cannot explain why we read the same books many times in life and each time > we find something new in them. Yes, as time passes, our experience as men > or women grows as well as empirical readers but , anyway, a book which > has always something new to tell you and which speaks directly to your > hearts, well, I think that's a great cave of food for mind and soul. > Don't you think so? > > Annalisa >