Reading for Wonder

Reading for Wonder: Ecology, Ethics, Enchantment, a book by Glenn Willmott, examines wonder both as an inherent human capacity and as a fabricated experience. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, the volume studies how wonder functions across cultural forms and natural environments.

The text investigates wonder through transmedia poetics across diverse artifacts and subjects, ranging from poetry and film to abstract painting. It traces the ethical power and political risks associated with wonder from early modern times to the present day.

Willmott argues that wonder must be freed from ideologies of enchantment and disenchantment to address its ethical ambivalence. Engaging environmental perspectives such as Rachel Carson's writing, the book presents wonder as an active ethical force rather than a purely moralistic stance.