Nachmanovitch tells it like it is in the most important book on improvisation I’ve yet seen.”
—Keith Jarrett, pianist
“A classic . . . altogether vitalizing. The remedy for creative block and existential stuckness.”
—Maria Popova
“This is an unusually intense, packed, thought-through book on the most difficult subject in the world: mystic creativity. If you want to be intellectually informed about how people actually create things, then you should read it at least once.”
—Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
“When I first heard Stephen Nachmanovitch in San Francisco and when he later visited my school in England, I was captivated by his being, as were all others. Now having read Free Play, I understand his approach more deeply. Would that Free Play found its way into every school, office, hospital, and factory. It is a most exciting book and a most important one.”
—Yehudi Menuhin, violinist
“I am grateful to Stephen Nachmanovitch for sharing his wisdom in these pages. I expect—I hope—to be rereading his book and practicing with it for the rest of my life.”
—Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness
“Stephen Nachmanovitch has produced a celebration of human uniqueness. In so doing, he helps us to make better use of our resources of playfulness, ingenuity, and creativity in general. What it amounts to is a guide for getting the most out of whatever is possible.”
—Norman Cousins, author of The Anatomy of an Illness
“I absolutely love this book. What a blissful, friendly, fiercely intelligent thing; it expresses truths that I am groping towards in a way that is emboldening and clarifying. I don't think I have ever felt so happy to shout about or recommend a book and I know I will read it again and again.”
—Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Write It All Down
“The mother of all improvisation books.”
—Jeffrey Agrell, University of Iowa
“This book is important not only because it delves into the creative process, but also because Nachmanovitch creates the opportunity for the reader to get in touch with his/her own creative possibilities and abilities. This is an essential book for everyone.”
—Harvard Educational Review
“The kit of tools Nachmanovitch lays before us are high-level generalizations, and could be applied equally well to just about any discipline from cooking to comedy. His intent is clearly unitary. He circles like a falcon around the inexpressible. His text is the finger in the haiku, pointing at the moon.”
—Keyboard Magazine
“Free Play is a superb guide for anyone who aspires to create, whatever the medium.”
—New Woman
Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art
Narrated by Robertson Dean
Stephen NachmanovitchUnabridged — 5 hours, 58 minutes
Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art
Narrated by Robertson Dean
Stephen NachmanovitchUnabridged — 5 hours, 58 minutes
Overview
Free Play is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation. It is about where art in the widest sense comes from. It is about why we create and what we learn when we do. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms.
Free Play is directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers. It integrates material from a wide variety of sources among the arts, sciences, and spiritual traditions of humanity. Filled with unusual quotes, amusing and illuminating anecdotes, and original metaphors, it reveals how inspiration arises within us; how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed or obscured by certain unavoidable facts of life; and how it can finally be liberated-how we can be liberated-to speak or sing, write or paint, dance or play, with our own authentic voice.
The whole enterprise of improvisation in life and art, of recovering free play and awakening creativity, is about being true to ourselves and our visions. It brings us into direct, active contact with boundless creative energies that we may not even know we had.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169840803 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 06/11/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Epigraph
Acknowledgements
Introduction
The Sources
Inspiration and Time’s Flow
The Vehicle
The Stream
The Muse
Mind at Play
Disappearing
The Work
Sex and Violins
Practice
The Power of Limits
The Power of Mistakes
Playing Together
Form Unfolding
Obstacles and Openings
Childhood’s End
Vicious Circles
The Judging Spectre
Surrender
Patience
Ripening
The Fruits
Eros and Creation
Quality
Art for Life’s Sake
Heartbreakthrough
Notes
Bibliography
Illustrations
About the Author
Most Tarcher/Putnam books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums,
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.
The author thanks the following for their permission to reprint from copyrighted works.
Constance Crown, for Hands by Rico Lebrun.
p. cm.
ISBN: 9781440673085
1. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) 2. Improvisation (Music)
Paint as you like and die happy.
HENRY MILLER
Acknowledgments
The following are only a few of the many friends and colleagues whose support, criticism, ideas, and other contributions were vital to the creation of this book:
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Free Play"
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Copyright © 1991 Stephen Nachmanovitch.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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