The Pinto Carver Essay Contest – 2012
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy.
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear!
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V, Scene 1
“Disorders of intellect,” answered Imlac, “happen much more often than superficial observers will easily believe. Perhaps if we speak with rigorous exactness, no human mind is in its right state. There is no man whose imagination does not sometimes predominate over his reason who can regulate his attention wholly by his will, and whose ideas will come and go at his command.”
Samuel Johnson, Rasselas, Chapter 44, “The Dangerous Prevalence of the Imagination”
“As a rule, indeed, grown-up people are fairly correct on matters of fact; it is in the higher gift of imagination that they are so sadly to seek.”
Kenneth Grahame, The Finding of the Princess
“You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination.”
Winston Churchill, talk at the Harrow School, October 9, 1941
The Topic: Write an essay in which you explore what role, if any, imagination should play in a college education. Needless to say, the more well developed your thoughts, the more specific your language, the better.
Eligibility: Current Liberal Arts Honors Freshmen and Sophomores
Specifications: 750-1000 words, titled, double-spaced, and typed, with your name in the upper-right hand corner. No cover page.
Awards:
1st Prize: $1500
2nd Prize: $500
3rd Prize: $250
Submission Deadline: Tuesday, January 17, 5:00 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Honors Office. The judges reserve the right to withhold awards in the absence of prize worthy essays.