Interview with Wendy K. Mages
1. What, if any, is the importance of magic to humankind?
Two primary sources of magic in my life are the arts and nature. Both art and nature provide a sense of wonder, mystery, and enchantment. So, for me, and I believe for others, this type of magic is essential.
2. How has your understanding of magic evolved with age?
My appreciation for the magic of the arts and the natural world has grown over the years. A piece of music, a play, a movie, a dance, a painting, a sculpture, or a story can lift my spirits and transport me to fascinating and revivifying places. Reveling in the splendor and mystery of the natural world has been particularly important to me in recent months, as long walks communing with nature have sustained me during the pandemic.
3. If you could have one magic power, what would it be, and why?
If I could have one magic power, it would be the power to heal. It would be wonderful to have the power to heal the people I love, to heal all of the inhabitants of our world, to heal our society, and to heal our planet.
Wendy K. Mages, a Professor at Mercy College, is a storyteller and educator who earned a master’s and a doctoral degree in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master’s degree in Theatre at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on the effect of the arts on learning and development. As a compliment to her research, she performs original stories at storytelling events and festivals in the United States and abroad. Some of her stories appear in The Journal of Stories in Science and Potato Soup Journal. A triptych of her poems appears in Scenario.
Two primary sources of magic in my life are the arts and nature. Both art and nature provide a sense of wonder, mystery, and enchantment. So, for me, and I believe for others, this type of magic is essential.
2. How has your understanding of magic evolved with age?
My appreciation for the magic of the arts and the natural world has grown over the years. A piece of music, a play, a movie, a dance, a painting, a sculpture, or a story can lift my spirits and transport me to fascinating and revivifying places. Reveling in the splendor and mystery of the natural world has been particularly important to me in recent months, as long walks communing with nature have sustained me during the pandemic.
3. If you could have one magic power, what would it be, and why?
If I could have one magic power, it would be the power to heal. It would be wonderful to have the power to heal the people I love, to heal all of the inhabitants of our world, to heal our society, and to heal our planet.
Wendy K. Mages, a Professor at Mercy College, is a storyteller and educator who earned a master’s and a doctoral degree in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master’s degree in Theatre at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on the effect of the arts on learning and development. As a compliment to her research, she performs original stories at storytelling events and festivals in the United States and abroad. Some of her stories appear in The Journal of Stories in Science and Potato Soup Journal. A triptych of her poems appears in Scenario.