Wendy Mages
Wendy Mages
About
Wendy K. Mages, a Pushcart Prize nominee and award-winning poet and author, is an educator, scholar, and storyteller who earned a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master’s in Theatre at Northwestern University. Prior to joining the faculty at Թϱ, she taught graduate and undergraduate students at Boston University and at Harvard. In addition to her work with adults, she has designed and taught a preschool performing arts program, worked as a museum educator, and wrote and performed for children’s television.
Her research, which focuses on the effect of educational strategies and contexts on language, cognitive, and social development, has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including the Review of Educational Research, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Research in Drama Education, Youth Theatre Journal, Scenario, and Library and Information Science Research. She was also honored to be awarded a Fulbright Specialist Fellowship focusing on Drama and Theatre in an Austrian Teacher Education Program.
As a complement to her research and scholarly publications, she performs original stories at storytelling events and festivals in the US and abroad, and has subsequently published many of these stories. To learn more about her poetry, stories, and storytelling, or to see videos of her performances at The Moth, please visit .
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Peer Reviewed Research Publications
Mages, W. K. (2021). Storytelling content, contexts, and controversies: A conscionable calculus. Scenario Journal, 15(2), 67-70.
Mages, W. K. (2021). Triptych: Ethical quandaries in personal storytelling for teaching and research. Scenario Journal, 15(2), 63-66.
Mages, W. K. (2020). Perseverance, performance, and pedagogy in the pandemic: The power of storytelling in face-to-face and virtual learning environments. R & E Source: Open Online Journal for Research and Education. Retrieved from
Mages, W. K. (2020). Educational drama and theatre pedagogy: An integral part of training English-as-a-foreign-language teachers. Scenario Journal, 14(1), 12-24.
Mages, W. K. (2018). Does theatre-in-education promote early childhood development?: The effect of drama on language, perspective-taking, and imagination. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45, 224–237.
Mages, W. K., Nitecki, E., & Ohseki, A. (2018). A college-community collaboration: Fostering developmentally appropriate practices in the early childhood classroom. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 18(3), 174–188.
Mages, W. K. (2017). Practice makes perfectible: The impact of training and rehearsal on intervention fidelity. Youth Theatre Journal, 31(1), 7–22.
Mages, W. K. (2016). Educational drama and theatre: Paradigms for understanding and engagement. R & E Source: Open Online Journal for Research and Education. Retrieved from
Mages, W. K. (2016). Taking inspiration from Reggio Emilia: An analysis of a professional development workshop on fostering authentic art in the early childhood classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 37(2), 175–185.
Mages, W. K. (2015). Drama in early childhood: Promoting language development and supporting academic transitions. R & E Source: Open Online Journal for Research and Education. Retrieved from
Mages, W. K. (2013). Building a strong ensemble of teaching artists: Characteristics, contexts, and strategies for success and sustainability. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 14(8). Retrieved from
Mages, W. K. (2012). Preschool characteristics influence the success of professional development: Is your preschool ready, willing, and able? NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field 15(2), 195–200.
Mages, W. K. (2012). Professional development in the context of a Head Start theatre-in-education program. NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field 15(2), 159–186.
Mages, W. K. (2010). Creating a culture of collaboration: The conception, design, and evolution of a Head Start theatre-in-education program. Youth Theatre Journal 24(1), 45–61.
Mages, W. K., & Garson, D. S. (2010). Get the cite right: Design and evaluation of a high-quality online citation tutorial. Library & Information Science Research Journal 32(2),
Mages, W. K. (2008). Does creative drama promote language development in early childhood? A review of the methods and measures employed in the empirical literature. Review of Educational Research 78(1), 124-152.
Mages, W. K. (2007). Motivation, classroom management, and pedagogical vision: An investigation of the psychosocial development of two actor-educators. Youth Theatre Journal 21, 94–112.&Բ;
Mages, W. K. (2006). Drama and imagination: A cognitive theory of drama’s effect on narrative comprehension and narrative production. Research in Drama Education 11(3), 329–340.
Mages, W. K. (2006). How many words is a picture worth? The importance of comprehensive reporting in drama research. Youth Theatre Journal 20, 1–11.
Mages, W. K. (2004). Urban Improv: A portrait of an educational drama organization. Youth Theatre Journal, 18,&Բ;30–44.&Բ;
Book Chapter
Mages, W. K. (2017). Drama-based interventions and narrative. In N. Kucirkova, C. E. Snow, V. Grover, & C. McBride (Eds). The Routledge international handbook of early literacy education: A contemporary guide to literacy teaching and interventions in a global context. (pp. 296–307). New York, NY: Routledge.
Literary Publications
Mages, W. K. (2025). City girls. The Manifest Station.
Mages, W. K. (2025). My mother’s hands. Grief Dialogues.
Mages, W. K. (2025). The once-nubile starlet. 50-Word Stories.
Mages, W. K. (2024). After the storm. WestWord.
Mages, W. K. (2024). At the stroke of midnight on the set of Swan Lake. Bright Flash Literary Review.
Mages, W. K. (2024) Embracing strangers. Grief Dialogues.
Mages, W. K. (2024). How to become a catastrophist in 6 easy steps. WestWord.
Mages, W. K. (2024). Our morning ritual. Quibble.
Mages, W. K. (2024). Our morning ritual. Quibble Quarterly, 2, 69.
Mages, W. K. (2024). Parkway promenade. Bright Flash Literary Review.
Mages, W. K. (2024). Pitch (not) perfect: My quixotic journey in the world of music. The AutoEthnographer, 4(2).
Mages, W. K. (2024). The question remains. Dreamers Creative Writing, 16.
Mages, W. K. (2024). So sings the washing machine. Prime Number Magazine, 251.
Mages, W. K. (2024). A triptych of acrostic email messages to an aspiring poet on the submission of a single poem entitled “Invaluable.” Witcraft.
Mages, W. K. (2024). A 21st century fairy tale for city girls. In B. A. Mullin (Ed.), 42 stories anthology presents: Book of 42² (p. 23).
Mages, W. K. (2024). Wise words. Kelp Journal: The Wave.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Before the last snow melts. 3cents Magazine, (5).
Mages, W. K. (2023). City girls. In J. Howard & C. Mayer (Eds.), Potato Soup Journal: Best of 2022 (pp. 262-264). Potato Soup Press.
Mages, W. K. (2023). A dozen potatoes. On the Premises: Mini-Contest #57 (Honorable Mention).
Mages, W. K. (2023). Geneses: Traces and tribulations. 50-Word Stories.
Mages, W. K. (2023). The guitar player. Bright Flash Literary Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Hair and social standards: Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? The AutoEthnographer, 3(2)
Mages, W. K. (2023). Heart troubles. Caustic Frolic.
Mages, W. K. (2023). The high diving board. Paper Dragon.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Hornets’ treat & trick. 50-Word Stories.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Intuit. Young Ravens Literary Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). No pedal boats. Dorothy Parker’s Ashes.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Morning blooms. San Antonio Review.
My mother’s hands. In T. Campbell (Ed.) Jarnal Volume 3: Transitions, pp. 30-34. Mason Jar Press.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Nimbus hidden. San Antonio Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Of love & longing. Bright Flash Literary Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Pennies from heaven. Jenny.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Portrait of a family: Swans carry on. Sea to Sky Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Pristine. San Antonio Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). The question remains. Dreamers Creative Writing, (16), 6.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Redheaded angel. Magpie Zine.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Springtime in New England. San Antonio Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Sunward. San Antonio Review.
Mages, W. K. (2023). There’s no place like home. LIGHT: Leaders Igniting Generational Healing & Transformation, 1, 74-75.
Mages, W. K. (2023). The tortoise. In Collected winning poems from The Poetry Society of Virginia: Prize winning poems 2023 celebrating a century of distinguished poets (p. 89). Poetry Society of Virginia. ISBN: 978-1667897684
Mages, W. K. (2023). A unicorn in winter. 50-Word Stories.
Mages, W. K. (2023). Vivian. Quibble.
Mages, W. K. (2022). City girls. Potato Soup Journal.
W. K. Mages. (2022). Dirty words. Funny Pearls.
Mages, W. K. (2022) Embracing strangers. Antithesis Journal Blog.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Framily. Hearth & Coffin.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Hatchling. Potato Soup Journal.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Memory of treasured worlds. New Croton Review, Summer 2022, 34.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Mirror, mirror. Quibble.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Pollinators. Route 7 Review.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Ridiculous rituals: Reasons, rules, and a rationale. Young Ravens Literary Review,
Mages, W. K. (2022). Salad dazed. In T. Green (Ed.), Our pandemic: Personal experiences of COVID-19. (p. 11). The Writer’s Workout.
Mages, W. K. (2022). The spitfire. Star 82 Review.
Mages, W. K. (2022). The stray. Five Minutes.
Mages, W. K. (2022). A toad of a man. Harpy Hybrid Review.
Mages, W. K. (2022). Victor the Koala. Funny Pearls.
Mages, W. K. (2022). With time. Potato Soup Journal.
Mages, W. (2021). A tale of 2020. In Manfred Scewe (Ed). 81 Sprüche zur enthärtung unserer welt: On the softening of our world 81 sayings. (p. 140). Schibri-Verlag.
Mages, W. K. (2019). Lima beans: An epiphany. Journal of Stories in Science. Retrieved from