Truth in Fiction ala Madeleine L'Engle

My friend Nancee gave me this book, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, upon my retirement and it has so many gems that spark my thinking, that I have to respond right away even though I am not finished with it. 

"... we all want truth, that truth which Jesus promised would make us free. But where do we find it? How could it have happened that even in the church story has been lost as a vehicle of truth? Early in our corruption we are taught that fiction is not true. Too many people apologize when they are caught enjoying a book of fiction; they are afraid that it will be considered a waste of time, and they ought to be reading a biography or a book of information on how to pot plants. Is Jane Eyre not true? Did Conrad, turning to writing of fiction in his sixties, not search there for truth? Was Melville, writing about the sea and the great conflict between a man and a whale, not delving for deeper truth than we can find in any number of "how to" books?

The impression I have of the Common Core Standards is that there is less emphasis on fiction and more on non-fiction. Hopefully, this creates a backlash against bureaucratic measures and make people conscious of the need for fiction and the truth of human endeavor within its stories.