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What does it mean to be a magical realist?

Being a magical realist means taking reality seriously while looking for its innate magic. It means discerning between fiction and nonfiction, truth and lies while staying open to the mystery of existence that transcends those polarities. 

A headshot of Joanna Gardner smiling with a background of blurry green trees.

One way to define magic is the appearance of things no one saw coming, or surprises. For example, consider the magical yet utterly real aspects of love, beauty, creativity, dreams, and imagination. In my view, these wonders prove reality is magical and therefore magic is real.

For me, the genre of magical realism captures more of reality than realism alone. From the time I was little, it was the strange parts of stories that resonated most powerfully for me. Impossible characters and events often felt more true than the “real” world in a way I couldn’t explain. I didn’t understand that effect until I studied mythology. Then I realized I had been responding to the metaphorical truth of those moments. They were metaphorical whispers of the reality of the sacred, or the divine. They said Look! There’s so much more to the world than meets the eye. Pay attention.

The Practice of Enchantment

Thank you to the Joseph Campbell Foundation for publishing my book, The Practice of Enchantment: MythBlast Essays, 2020-2024. Inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell, these essays are about how myth enlivens and enchants everyday life.

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