Light the Dark
Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process
by Joe Fassler illustrated by Doug Mclean
PENGUIN GROUP Penguin
Penguin Books
Nonfiction (Adult) , Professional & Technical
Pub Date 26 Sep 2017
FTC Reviewed ARC for Penguin Group and Net Galley
Description
A stunning guide to finding creative inspiration and how it can illuminate your life, your work, and your art—from Stephen King, Junot Díaz, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, Roxane Gay, Neil Gaiman, and many more acclaimed writers.
What inspires you? That's the simple, but a profound question posed to forty-six renowned authors in LIGHT THE DARK. Each writer begins with a favorite passage from a novel, a song, a poem—something that gets them started and keeps them going with the creative work they love. From there, incredible lessons and stories of life-changing encounters with art emerge, like how sneaking books into his job as a night security guard helped Khaled Hosseini learn that nothing he creates will ever be truly finished. Or how a college reading assignment taught Junot Díaz that great art can be a healing conversation, and an unexpected poet led Elizabeth Gilbert to embrace an unyielding optimism, even in the face of darkness. LIGHT THE DARK collects the best of The Atlantic's much-acclaimed "By Heart" series edited by Joe Fassler and adds brand new pieces, each one paired with a striking illustration. Here is a guide to creative living and writing in the vein of Daily Rituals, Bird by Bird, and Big Magic for anyone who wants to learn how great writers find inspiration—and how to find some of your own.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Elizabeth Gilbert, Junot Díaz, Marilynne Robinson, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Mary Gaitskill, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Roxane Gay, Angela Flournoy, Jonathan Franzen, Yiyun Li, Leslie Jamison, Claire Messud, Edwidge Danticat, David Mitchell, Khaled Hosseini, Ayana Mathis, Kathryn Harrison, Azar Nafisi, Hanya Yanagihara, Jane Smiley, Nell Zink, Emma Donoghue, Jeff Tweedy, Eileen Myles, Maggie Shipstead, Sherman Alexie, Andre Dubus III, Billy Collins, Lev Grossman, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Charles Simic, Jim Shepard, T.C. Boyle, Tom Perrotta, Viet Than Nguyen, William Gibson, Mark Haddon, Ethan Canin, Jessie Ball, Jim Crace, and Walter Mosley.
My Thoughts
In Light the Dark, everyone in this book is a writer. So, if you think about the wealth of creativity wrapped up in this short book... it is AMAZING. It truly made me feel nostalgic. Like, I should go and curl up in the corner and read all these author's again for the millionth time. And, then when I had that completed, I could read the writing that inspired them.
As I mentioned with excess enthusiasm, everyone in this book is a WRITER. Plus, these writer's, are writing about the ...writing.. that inspires them. So, this book definitely has a little bit of magic in it.
Yes, I did a read aloud. And, I devoured this book. I don't want to give to much away. But, I will give you a glimpse, within boundaries, of what appealed, and what troubled me.
I really like that the writers immerse themselves in reading and attribute their inspiration to other writer's. I also appreciate that many value the importance of using simple things we all are born with ... imagination, curiosity and the ability to observe.
What keeps them going? Well, that is a great question for the individual.
Perhaps some of these writers were never told to table their imagination or to tone down their curiosity. Perhaps for some, there is no resistance to their creativity. Maybe they look within and write down everything they observe...everything they dream.
This is profound in that it reads like restless and astute surges of creative minds. So much so, that I catch something new each time I go back an re-read a section. Yes. I am already rereading it.
I absolutely love that the short books are covered too. Poetry. I love Poetry.
Was it all good? Well NO. Don't most characters have downfalls?
Many of these writers overcame great obstacles to produce their creations.The writers are blatantly honest. And, as reader's, we are agonizingly aware of their vulnerabilities. And, at times, it feels like we have a kindred spirit for the complexities of life.
Overall, this book helps readers to feel deep emotion and a connection to the writer. And, it places a face on their process.
Not the catchy title of their book.
Not an intense line of their poetry.
But, a face. A self-aware....inhabiting .... face. One filled with emotion and wonder..one that makes each reader aware that the writer's process is as UNIQUE...as the writer.
Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process
by Joe Fassler illustrated by Doug Mclean
PENGUIN GROUP Penguin
Penguin Books
Nonfiction (Adult) , Professional & Technical
Pub Date 26 Sep 2017
FTC Reviewed ARC for Penguin Group and Net Galley
Description
A stunning guide to finding creative inspiration and how it can illuminate your life, your work, and your art—from Stephen King, Junot Díaz, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, Roxane Gay, Neil Gaiman, and many more acclaimed writers.
What inspires you? That's the simple, but a profound question posed to forty-six renowned authors in LIGHT THE DARK. Each writer begins with a favorite passage from a novel, a song, a poem—something that gets them started and keeps them going with the creative work they love. From there, incredible lessons and stories of life-changing encounters with art emerge, like how sneaking books into his job as a night security guard helped Khaled Hosseini learn that nothing he creates will ever be truly finished. Or how a college reading assignment taught Junot Díaz that great art can be a healing conversation, and an unexpected poet led Elizabeth Gilbert to embrace an unyielding optimism, even in the face of darkness. LIGHT THE DARK collects the best of The Atlantic's much-acclaimed "By Heart" series edited by Joe Fassler and adds brand new pieces, each one paired with a striking illustration. Here is a guide to creative living and writing in the vein of Daily Rituals, Bird by Bird, and Big Magic for anyone who wants to learn how great writers find inspiration—and how to find some of your own.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Elizabeth Gilbert, Junot Díaz, Marilynne Robinson, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Mary Gaitskill, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Roxane Gay, Angela Flournoy, Jonathan Franzen, Yiyun Li, Leslie Jamison, Claire Messud, Edwidge Danticat, David Mitchell, Khaled Hosseini, Ayana Mathis, Kathryn Harrison, Azar Nafisi, Hanya Yanagihara, Jane Smiley, Nell Zink, Emma Donoghue, Jeff Tweedy, Eileen Myles, Maggie Shipstead, Sherman Alexie, Andre Dubus III, Billy Collins, Lev Grossman, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Charles Simic, Jim Shepard, T.C. Boyle, Tom Perrotta, Viet Than Nguyen, William Gibson, Mark Haddon, Ethan Canin, Jessie Ball, Jim Crace, and Walter Mosley.
My Thoughts
In Light the Dark, everyone in this book is a writer. So, if you think about the wealth of creativity wrapped up in this short book... it is AMAZING. It truly made me feel nostalgic. Like, I should go and curl up in the corner and read all these author's again for the millionth time. And, then when I had that completed, I could read the writing that inspired them.
As I mentioned with excess enthusiasm, everyone in this book is a WRITER. Plus, these writer's, are writing about the ...writing.. that inspires them. So, this book definitely has a little bit of magic in it.
Yes, I did a read aloud. And, I devoured this book. I don't want to give to much away. But, I will give you a glimpse, within boundaries, of what appealed, and what troubled me.
I really like that the writers immerse themselves in reading and attribute their inspiration to other writer's. I also appreciate that many value the importance of using simple things we all are born with ... imagination, curiosity and the ability to observe.
What keeps them going? Well, that is a great question for the individual.
Perhaps some of these writers were never told to table their imagination or to tone down their curiosity. Perhaps for some, there is no resistance to their creativity. Maybe they look within and write down everything they observe...everything they dream.
This is profound in that it reads like restless and astute surges of creative minds. So much so, that I catch something new each time I go back an re-read a section. Yes. I am already rereading it.
I absolutely love that the short books are covered too. Poetry. I love Poetry.
Was it all good? Well NO. Don't most characters have downfalls?
Many of these writers overcame great obstacles to produce their creations.The writers are blatantly honest. And, as reader's, we are agonizingly aware of their vulnerabilities. And, at times, it feels like we have a kindred spirit for the complexities of life.
Overall, this book helps readers to feel deep emotion and a connection to the writer. And, it places a face on their process.
Not the catchy title of their book.
Not an intense line of their poetry.
But, a face. A self-aware....inhabiting .... face. One filled with emotion and wonder..one that makes each reader aware that the writer's process is as UNIQUE...as the writer.