Think About It 038: LAURA RIDING

It is very sad then that so many children are hurried along and not given time to think about themselves.  People say to them when they think that they have been playing long enough:  'You are no longer a child.  You must begin to do something.'  But although playing is doing nothing, you are really doing something when you play; you are thinking about yourself.  Many children play in the wrong way.  They make work out of play.  They not only seem to be doing something, they really are doing something.  They are imitating the grown-ups around them who are always doing as much instead of as little as possible.  And they are often encouraged to play in this way by the grown-ups.  And they are not learning to be themselves.

Four Unposted Letters to Catherine (1930)


 

Use the link below to read more about the life and work of North American poet, critic, novelist and essayist LAURA RIDING (1901–1991):

 

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/riding-laura

 

 

You might also enjoy:

 
Think About It 026: GORDON LIVINGSTON

  
Think About It 020: WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA

 
Think About It 014: DOROTHY ROWE