what is literature

In my mind literature is the ideas of a certain writter expressed through stories and/or poems.  These stories usually contain similies, metaphors and other literarry ways of expressing the writers thoughts without flat out saying them.

I think we read literature in order to gain understanding.  We try to understand what the writter thinks, what society thinks, and what we think as we read.  This helps us better understand society and furthers our thinking process