Spaning 30 years, the essays in this collection present variations on the theme of how, through language and social interaction, humans evolve increasingly more accurate maps of their worlds. The six essays in the first section, "Literature and the Shaping of Experience," point to a central concern for literature as a fundamental way of knowing and of creating and organizing meaning. Specifically, the essays deal with reading and writing poetry, words and the imagination, poetry and the patterns of culture, fantasy, the response to literature, and the spectator role and the beginnings of writing. The eight essays in the second section,"Language and Intention," cover the wider range of language and how it works in its varying forms from speaking and listening to writing and reading. Among the topics covered in this section are language and representation, reader expectations, shaping at the point of utterance, talking, and writing to learn and learning to write. The six essays in the third section, "Perspectives on the Profession," reveal connections between language and behavior and the realities of schooling and public pressures, while offering a historical overview of the author's career in education. Among the topics discussed in this section are the Bullock Report and language in the British primary school. (FL)