"In the vein of The Creative Habit and The Artist's Way, a new manifesto on the creative process from a master of the impossible. Since well before his epic 1974 walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Philippe Petit had become an artist who answered first and foremost to the demands of his craft-not only on the high wire, but also as a magician, street juggler, visual artist, builder, and writer. A born rebel like many creative people,...

"Draft No. 4 is a master class on the writer's craft. In a series of playful, expertly wrought essays, John McPhee shares insights he has gathered over his career and has refined while teaching at Princeton University, where he has nurtured some of the most esteemed writers of recent decades. McPhee offers definitive guidance in the decisions regarding arrangement, diction, and tone that shape nonfiction pieces, and he presents extracts from his work,...

"From the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times science reporter acclaimed for "bring[ing] scientific concepts to life" (Bill Gates), a pathbreaking new investigation into the mysteries of human creativity"-- Creativity defines the human experience. It sparks achievement and innovation in art, science, technology, business, sports, and virtually every activity. It has fueled human progress on a global level, but it equally is the source of profound...

"In a series of conversational observations and meditations on the writing process, The Art of Slow Writing examines the benefits of writing slowly. DeSalvo advises her readers to explore their creative process on deeper levels by getting to know themselves and their stories more fully over a longer period of time. She writes in the same supportive manner that encourages her students, using the slow writing process to help them explore the complexities...

In May 2012, bestselling author Neil Gaiman delivered the commencement address at Philadelphia's University of the Arts, in which he shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength. He encouraged the fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to break rules and think outside the box. Most of all, he encouraged them to make good art. This book, designed by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd, contains the full text of Gaiman's inspiring...

Examines the concept of gifts in anthropological terms and uses this approach to analyze the situation of creative artists and their gifts to society.

"A prize-winning Belgian poet explores the nature of creative endeavor-the godlike ambition, the crushing defeat of failure-through the stories of thirteen tragic architects. In thirteen fascinating chapters, Charlotte Van den Broeck goes in search of buildings that were fatal to their architects-architects who either killed themselves or are rumored to have done so. They range across time and space from a church with a twisted spire in seventeenth-century...