This compilation of thoughtful pieces is probably one of Gordimer's most underrated books.
Often authors are asked about what inspires them to write, Gordimer here, penned down the very trajectory of her thought and not just what motivated her to write. She engages with a wide spectrum of authors who've influenced her, whom she's had an opportunity to interact with and upon those she's left a mark.
The book compels you to think about the revolutionary character that literature bears and how with mass culture, we assume that we've robbed literature off such capacities. Gordimer was someone who still deeply believed in the power of words and the potential it held to change our societies. She believed that no medium of communication held as much intensity as a good book did.
It is interesting how she stitches personal experiences, narratives and instances into the broader political context and how she perceived them. Understanding the relationship between fiction and politics, Gordimer considers literature as a part of liberation and that underlines her passion right there.
The book, very simplistically put, would explain to you, why she writes what she writes....