At a very young age, Gendler became enamored with elements of creativity such as words, colors and beauty. After years of writing, painting and teaching, she has come to know herself as an “Anthropologist of the Imagination.” She offers insight into qualities that make us human, such as joy, beauty, curiosity, and courtesy. She suggests some ways to spark our creativity.  J. Ruth Gendler is an artist and a writer, and has been a teacher of writing and art for more than twenty years. She leads workshops in writing and creativity throughout the United States, and has been an artist in residence with California Poets in the Schools and Young Audiences of the Bay Area. She has worked with elementary, middle school and high school students teaching through California Poets in the Schools, and writes about the transformative power of art. In October 2007 the Lineage Dance Company presented a theater piece based on her book The Book of Qualities (Harper Perennial 1988), now in its 52nd printing. Her books also include Changing Light: The Eternal Cycle of Night and Day (Editor) (Harper Collins 1991) and Notes on the Need for Beauty: An Intimate Look at an Essential Quality (Marlowe & Company 2007)

Interview Date: 9/17/2014  Tags: MP3, Ruth Gendler, creativity, writing, self-publishing, art, anthropologist of the imagination, beauty, imagination, inspiration, color poems, efficiency, writing letters, Arts & Creativity