Stirring a Child's Imagination

Artist J. Ruth Gendler was teaching poetry to children when they began to teach her about imagination. She came to describe herself as “an anthropologist of the imagination.” “Nothing happens that we don’t imagine.” Imagination can open us to empathy by imagining what life is like to someone different than us; it gives form to life from art and music to a beautiful meal. “More and more I believe the human imagination can be considered an essential natural resource – not rare but precious – and it needs our attention to flourish.” While imagining may come more easily to children, Gendler believes we can cultivate it at all ages. “What if the imagination is a friend that we can walk with throughout our lives?” “In this time when we are drowning in information and the images of others, when so much seems fragile and urgent, my hope is that we find a way to take the time to listen to, nurture, and cultivate our imaginations.”

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