J. Ruth Gendler

About the Author

J. Ruth Gendler is an artist, writer, and teacher. She is the author of The Book of Qualities and the editor of Changing Light: The Eternal Cycle of Night and Day.The Book of Qualities, now in its thirty-fifth printing, has been adapted as a two-act theater piece and translated into German, Japanese, and Chinese, as well as being widely excerpted in literary, psychological and educational publications. In addition to personal essays and poems, Gendler writes about the arts, education, health, and books. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally.

Gendler has taught writing and art in a variety of settings for twenty years. She has been an artist in residence with both California Poets in the Schools and Young Audiences of the Bay Area and leads writing and creativity workshops nationally. She received her B.A. in English and Communications from Stanford University, and she now resides in Berkeley, California.