03/05/2026
Magic is not for children. For one thing, they don’t particularly need it; they have more than enough mystery in their lives. Adults, on the other hand, are not only better suited to experience magic (just as they are better suited to experience any other sophisticated art form), they also have a pressing need for mystery, in a world which has become mundane in spite of itself.
The omnipresent mysteries of life are, in this present age, too easily mistaken for the commonplace. Hence, the role of the magician is not only aesthetically valid, it is terribly important. Without the deliberate address of mystery there is a dangerous risk of madness—which explains a great deal about the nature of contemporary society.
And while we’re at it, what about declaring a moratorium on the word “wonder” as a wimpoid expression of what magic is supposedly all about? From now on, the only wonders of which I wish to hear are Stevie and Tommy.
MAX MAVEN
