king on short stories

This appears to be the introduction to a volume of short stories by Stephen King called Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1992). In it he writes about childhood fears, faith, and short stories.

I don't talk about this much, because it embarrasses me and it sounds pompous, but I still see stories as a great thing, something which not only enhances lives but actually saves them. Nor am I speaking metaphorically. Good writing - good stories - are the imagination's firing pin, and the purpose of the imagination, I believe, is to offer us solace and shelter from situations and life-passages which would otherwise prove unendurable. I can only speak from my own experience, of course, but for me, the imagination which so often kept me awake and in terror as a child has seen me through some terrible bouts of stark raving reality as an adult.

Thanks to the often-interesting Darren Barefoot.