How important is the first sentence of an article or book? We all know it is very important, at least when it comes to the level of interest a piece of writing will generate in the reader. A dull, lifeless first paragraph sets a boring tone for the whole piece—a tone that is difficult to change later on, no matter how interesting the topic may be. But why should the first sentence or paragraph be any more signif­icant than the others? Is there anything about what comes first in life that makes it somehow more meaningful—or perhaps, meaningful in a different way—than other , subsequent events? This, in its broadest sense, is the question of initia­tion.