Pure imagination

 

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

 

Close your eyes, and in a voice, only you can hear, say your name. Say it a few times, recite it to yourself. Say it slowly, enjoying the sound of it in your mouth.

This simple exercise transports you into a private world—a room no one else can access. It’s the room of your imagination."

I tried this exercise whilst reading Mister Pip - a novel by Lloyd Jones, set in Papua New Guinea. Civil war has broken out, and at the tiny school that Matilda, the novel's narrator attends, there is only one book and that book is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Matilda's teacher, Mister Pip, invites the students to close their eyes and say their names, creating a refuge within their imaginations.

 I closed my eyes, said my name and found myself in that room. For me, it became a rehearsal space, mirrors on one side, a polished wooden floor beneath my feet. But imagination is as personal as a fingerprint—no two are alike. What would your room look like? Maybe you would be deep in a Nordic pine forest, with birds like the Siberian Jay and the Three-toed Woodpecker, and the odd troll. Or would you be in the cabin of a pirate ship, trying to say your name whilst wild waves try to reduce your boat to matchsticks . You can decide. It's the room of your imagination. 

Curious about how imagination works, I asked ChatGPT for insights. It explained that imagination is shaped by memory, experience, flexibility, and emotion. I especially loved this poetic description it shared: 'Imagination is a bridge between the known and the unknown... a cosmic lightshow contained within your skull. The room of your imagination is a place where anything is possible'

And when you are living amidst the horrors of a civil war, having the ability to transport yourself to a place where anything is possible is a skill that Matilda and others in her class find immensely valuable.

I found Mister Pip, a slow-burner of a book, it wasn't till I got to nearly halfway that the book started to grip me. Reading about the horrors of a civil war can have that effect on you, and then I got to the page where Mister Pip, Matilda's teacher shares this exercise, that is when this novel entered the library of my heart - where only the truly special books are allowed to enter. 

When I picture Dickens's imagination, I think of a mansion filled with endless rooms, where each door leads to a new place. You open one and you find yourself in the dingy, grimy streets of Oliver Twist's London, you open another and you are there witnessing Scrooges epiphany when he wakes up on Christmas morning and discovers 'the spirits have done it all in one night'  and he's still alive! He's not dead after all!

I'm curious, how many of Charles Dickens books have you read? I've only read one, which was A Christmas Carol, which I loved, especially when Scrooge wakes up transformed on Christmas morning. Mister Pip has of course led me to start reading Great Expectations - how can you not when you read a book which is dedicated to its main character. I've only read one chapter but that alone has impacted me, and could lead on to a future post with Dickens use of the power of punctuation, sentences and paragraphs.

I will come to a close now, but as I do, I'd love for you to share with me your favorite books where you feel the author has best used the power of their imagination, and what the room of your imagination looks like? 

It's too early to wish you a Merry Christmas, so I'll end with the words of tiny Tim -

“God bless us, every one!”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Martin is a writer, baker, photographer and storyteller. He's been published in the ACW Christmas anthology and Lent devotional. He's currently honing his craft at flash fiction and you can find him on Twitter here.