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“Never Land”: Where do imaginary worlds come from?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2022

Sue Llewellyn Open the ORCID record for Sue Llewellyn [Opens in a new window]
Sue Llewellyn*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Humanities, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK [email protected]://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/susan-llewellyn(935188b6-d869-4122-bfce-be3d1bd72c9c).html
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Abstract

We assume “Imaginary worlds” to be unreal and unfamiliar: high fantasy. I argue they are real and familiar to authors because they comprise memory elements, which blend experience, knowledge, beliefs and pre-occupations. These “bits and pieces” from memories can generate a world, which readers experience as pure imagination. I illustrate using J.M. Barrie's “Never Land” and J.R.R. Tolkien's “Middle-Earth.”

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e287
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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