Four Questions of Creativity


Book Description

In Four Questions of Creativity: Keys to a Creative Life, a psychologist and psychotherapist introduces the results of his fascinating study on the nature and development of creativity and how creativity changes as we age. Piers Worth summarizes years of extensive research as he shares the four key questions he feels help all of us find and express creativity in our lives. While learning the specific ways to find the energy and the will to start on a path to creativity, others will discover the answers to: What is creativity? How do I become creative? What is the contribution of mentoring? How might creativity change as we age? Through listening to creative people and their stories, Dr. Worth offers a new perspective as he leads others to discover what activities and actions will lead not only to creativity, but also increased energy, vitality, fulfillment, and happiness at any age. " ... This is a book that offers hope as we age, acknowledging how a creative life over time fosters quality relationships that deepen the prospect of our humanity through our capacity to love." -Dr. Andrew Machon, author of The Coaching Secret




The Four Questions


Book Description

Bestselling author Byron Katie and accomplished, award-winning illustrator Hans Wilhelm team up for a modern retelling of the classic folk tale The Sky Is Falling--reimagined through the lens of Byron Katie's world-famous philosophy for living known as "The Work." Written for adults and children alike, in the form of a full-color, illustrated book, the wisdom contained in this beautiful work can have a profound effect on readers young and old.




The Program Era


Book Description

In The Program Era, Mark McGurl offers a fundamental reinterpretation of postwar American fiction, asserting that it can be properly understood only in relation to the rise of mass higher education and the creative writing program. McGurl asks both how the patronage of the university has reorganized American literature and—even more important—how the increasing intimacy of writing and schooling can be brought to bear on a reading of this literature. McGurl argues that far from occasioning a decline in the quality or interest of American writing, the rise of the creative writing program has instead generated a complex and evolving constellation of aesthetic problems that have been explored with energy and at times brilliance by authors ranging from Flannery O’Connor to Vladimir Nabokov, Philip Roth, Raymond Carver, Joyce Carol Oates, and Toni Morrison. Through transformative readings of these and many other writers, The Program Era becomes a meditation on systematic creativity—an idea that until recently would have seemed a contradiction in terms, but which in our time has become central to cultural production both within and beyond the university. An engaging and stylishly written examination of an era we thought we knew, The Program Era will be at the center of debates about postwar literature and culture for years to come.




300 Ways to Ask the Four Questions


Book Description

Worldwide translations of the Four Questions from the Passover Seder, from language experts around the world. Spice up your Seder with interesting stories, connections to genealogy and games. 270+ living languages, 15 ancient languages, 4 sign languages, 25 parodies & constructed languages, all in 368 beautiful pages with images of where the languages are spoken. Includes DVD (full recordings, games, puzzles) and CD (highlights and puzzles).




Creativity


Book Description

____________________________ We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how. Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, and in this short, immensely practical and often very amusing guide he shows it's a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. ____________________________ 'Humorous and practical ... Whether you're hoping to write a novel or paint a masterpiece, you're sure to feel inspired' OK Magazine 'His candor is endearing ... An upbeat guide to the creative process' Kirkus 'A jovial romp ... Cleese fans will enjoy, and writers and other artists will breeze through, picking up a few nuggets of wisdom along the way' The Festival Review 'A sincere and thoughtful guide to creativity, and a very useful book' Graham Norton 'Wise words on the serious business of being silly' Sunday Business Post




A Whale in Paris


Book Description

“Perfect for readers who love a touch of the fantastic and the impossible.” —Booklist A hopeful and heroic girl befriends a small, lost whale during World War II and together they embark on a journey to liberate France and find their families in this charming debut novel. Ever since the Germans became the unwelcome “guests” of Paris in the early days of World War II, Papa and Chantal have gone out in the evenings to fish in the Seine. Tonight Chantal is hoping for a salmon, but instead she spies something much more special: a whale! Though small (for a whale) and lost, he seems friendly. Chantal soon opens her heart to the loveable creature and names him Franklin, after the American president who must surely be sending troops to rescue her country. Yet Franklin is in danger: The Parisians are starving and would love to eat him, and the Nazis want to capture him as a gift to Hitler. In a desperate bid to liberate themselves and their city, Chantal and Franklin embark on a dangerous voyage. But can one small girl manage to return a whale to the ocean and reunite him with his parents? And will she ever see her own family again?




The Book of Beautiful Questions


Book Description

From the bestselling author of A More Beautiful Question, hundreds of big and small questions that harness the magic of inquiry to tackle challenges we all face--at work, in our relationships, and beyond. When confronted with almost any demanding situation, the act of questioning can help guide us to smart decisions. By asking questions, we can analyze, learn, and move forward in the face of uncertainty. But "questionologist" Warren Berger says that the questions must be the right ones; the ones that cut to the heart of complexity or enable us to see an old problem in a fresh way. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, Berger shares illuminating stories and compelling research on the power of inquiry. Drawn from the insights and expertise of psychologists, innovators, effective leaders, and some of the world's foremost creative thinkers, he presents the essential questions readers need to make the best choices when it truly counts, with a particular focus in four key areas: decision-making, creativity, leadership, and relationships. The powerful questions in this book can help you: - Identify opportunities in your career or industry - Generate fresh ideas in business or in your own creative pursuits - Check your biases so you can make better judgments and decisions - Do a better job of communicating and connecting with the people around you Thoughtful, provocative, and actionable, these beautiful questions can be applied immediately to bring about change in your work or your everyday life.




Milieus of Creativity


Book Description

Milieus of Creativity is the second volume in the book series Knowledge and Space. This book deals with spatial disparities of knowledge and the impact of environments, space and contexts on the production and application of knowledge. The contributions in this volume focus on the role of places, environments, and spatial contexts for the emergence and perpetuation of creativity. Is environment a social or a spatial phenomenon? Are only social factors relevant for the development of creativity or should one also include material artefacts and resources in its definition? How can we explain spatial disparities of creativity without falling victim to geodeterminism? This book offers insights from various disciplines such as environmental psychology, philosophy, and social geography. It presents the results of a research conference at Heidelberg University in September 2006, which was supported by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.




From Story to Judgment


Book Description

The Four Question Method (4QM) identifies the questions that drive the thinking that real people do when they take the human world seriously. The authors, Jonathan Bassett and Gary Shiffman, have figured out how to describe and teach what it takes to answer those questions well. This inquiry method gives educators a way to integrate content 'coverage' - through storytelling! - with practice in thinking skills that are central to history and its affiliated academic disciplines, together called social studies. The Four Question Method helps teachers to plan more effectively and students to learn more effectively. It provides guidance for writing research essays. And it transfers - the skills our students practice will work for them when they encounter and make their own history.




Discovering Creativity


Book Description

The conference proceedings contain the following papers: "Hard Organizational Development" (Anthony); "Positive Impact of Humor in the Workplace or TQM (Total Quality Mirth) in Organizations" (Collier); "Introducing the Integrated Programme for the Creative Training of Leaders" (Diaz-Carrera); "Vision of Quality versus the Quality Vision" (Green); "Flying High" (Musselwhite); "COMM=Unity" (Rose); "Seven Levels of Change Model" (Smith); "Creative Community Development" (Chwedorowicz); "Managing Diversity in Communication and Problem Solving with Effective Levels of Abstraction" (Murdock); "Entrepreneurs" (Rosenfeld et al.); "Learnings from Selection" (Tassoul); "Fire This Time" (Barnes); "Creating Breakthroughs in Organizations" (Collier); "Process Explorations with Cyberquest" (Dickey, DiDomizio); "Hypermedia System for Discovery and Innovation Support" (Dickey et al.); "Teaching Creativity by Distance Learning Methods" (Jones); "Change as a Creative Catalyst" (Miguez); "Learning to Create Shared Vision" (Musselwhite, De Ciantis); "'What I Tell Two Times Is True'" (Cimino); "Touchstone" (De Ciantis); "Art and Discipline of Debriefing" (Lunken); "Leadership Development Theory and a Model for Intervention in the Development of Leaders" (Palus, Drath); "Risk-taking and Innovation Performance" (Prather); "Work Environment Differences between High Creativity and Low Creativity Projects" (Amabile et al.); "Discovering the Unseen Leader" (Burkhart, Horth); "Introducing a Creativity Improvement Program for the Federal Express I.S. Organization" (Couger et al.);"Creativity in Project Work" (Ekvall); "MBTI [Myers-Briggs Type Indicator] and KAI [Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory] Bias on Creativity Courses" (Henry); "Inquiry into Cross-cultural Creativity Training" (Isaksen, Dorval); "Dynamic Nature of Creative Problem Solving" (Isaksen et al.); "Profiling Creativity" (Isaksen, Puccio); "New Insights into Different Styles of Creativity" (Jones); "Managing Creative People at Work" (McWhinney); "World of Ideas" (Morgan); "Bridging Theory and Practice" (Murdock et al.); "Critical Thinking" (Novelli, Taylor); "Creating Together" (Possne); "Relationship between the KAI and the MBTI Creativity Index" (Taylor); "Creativity East and West" (Wonder); "Creativity Research at the Delft Institute of Technology" (Buijs, Nauta); "On Becoming a Facilitator" (Buijs, Nauta); "Innovation in the U.S. Military" (Clauson); "Creating an Innovation Course in a Large Corporation" (Jimenez); "Promoting Targeted Innovation in Japan through R&D [Research and Development] Division Liaison between Different Industries" (Kurebayashi); "Developing Creativity in Japanese Companies" (Nakazono); and "Innovative and Creative Change" (Tanner). (KC)