Stephen Nachmanovitch

This book 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 finally it can 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.

A MASTERFUL BOOK ABOUT BREATHING LIFE INTO ART AND ART INTO LIFE“Stephen Nachmanovitch’s The Art of Is is a philosophical meditation on living, living fully, living in the present. To the author, an improvisation is a co-creation that arises out of listening and mutual attentiveness, out of a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. It is a product of the nervous system, bigger than the brain and bigger than the body; it is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, unprecedented and unrepeatable. Drawing from the wisdom of the ages, The Art of Is not only gives the reader an inside view of the states of mind that give rise to improvisation, it is also a celebration of the power of the human spirit, which — when exercised with love, immense patience, and discipline — is an antidote to hate.”— Yo-Yo Ma, cellist

Según Stephen Nachmanovitch, los seres humanos somos verbos, no siempre en movimiento, disponibles al cambio y a la sorpresa, muchas veces nos olvidamos de lo que es sentirnos verdaderamente vivos. Por eso, en este libro lúcido, juguetón, inspirador, nos lo recuerda.

A critically acclaimed musician and teacher presents a guide to the dynamics of improvisation.It's easy to assume that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous and endlessly influential "I Have a Dream" speech was scripted beforehand, vetted by others, written, and rewritten. It was not. Instead, it was given on the fly, when from the audience, singer Mahalia Jackson urged King off his prepared text. The result has inspired millions.The Art of Is contains breath-of-fresh-air thinking about how to cultivate the kind of game-changing creativity everyone seeks. Stephen Nachmanovitch shows exactly how the passion and immediacy of improvisation can be cultivated and how, in fact, we all improvise all the time - whether we are driving or deep in conversation. He explores ideas about being in the moment and reacting to people as they are, finding gold in unexpected distractions and roadblocks, and not only accepting, but also celebrating imperfections in everyday practices. This creative mindfulness also makes innovation the province not of solitary geniuses, but the result of engagement and interaction - and makes clear that improvising, creating, and innovating are only of value when rooted in an ethical and social foundation. The results, Nachmanovitch shows, foster meaningful change and invention - and may just ignite a dream.

Vrij spel is een klassieker die lezers al decennialang helpt om hun creatieve potentieel te benutten. Onderbouwd met inzichten uit kunst, wetenschap en spiritualiteit, wijst dit boek de weg naar ongehinderde creatieve energie.Met originele metaforen toont Nachmanovitsch hoe inspiratie ontstaat, belemmerd wordt en uiteindelijk bevrijd kan worden. Dit boek is een lofzang op authenticiteit en brengt ons in contact met de grenzeloze creativiteit die in ons allen schuilt.