The Habit of Art


Book Description

Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W. H. Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first in twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, among others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Alan Bennett's new play is as much about the theater as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion's spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.




The Habit of Art


Book Description

Auden often said that metre and rhyme led him down unexpected paths to thoughts he wouldn't otherwise have had, and in this respect versification and fornication are not so different. Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W H Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by amongst others their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. You are a rent boy. I am a poet. Over the wall lives the Dean of Christ Church. We all have our parts to play. Alan Bennett's new play is as much about the theatre as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion's spent: ultimately, on the habit of art. 'In the end,' said Auden, 'art is small beer. The really serious things in life are earning one's living and loving one's neighbour.'




The Habit of Art


Book Description

Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W. H. Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first in twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, among others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Alan Bennett's new play is as much about the theater as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion's spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.




The Creative Habit


Book Description

One of the world’s leading creative artists, choreographers, and creator of the smash-hit Broadway show, Movin’ Out, shares her secrets for developing and honing your creative talents—at once prescriptive and inspirational, a book to stand alongside The Artist’s Way and Bird by Bird. All it takes to make creativity a part of your life is the willingness to make it a habit. It is the product of preparation and effort, and is within reach of everyone. Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with thirty-two practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career. In "Where's Your Pencil?" Tharp reminds you to observe the world -- and get it down on paper. In "Coins and Chaos," she gives you an easy way to restore order and peace. In "Do a Verb," she turns your mind and body into coworkers. In "Build a Bridge to the Next Day," she shows you how to clean the clutter from your mind overnight. Tharp leads you through the painful first steps of scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts and into productive grooves. The wide-open realm of possibilities can be energizing, and Twyla Tharp explains how to take a deep breath and begin...




The Habit of Noticing


Book Description

The Habit of Noticing is a personal manifesto on the value of art and creativity, written by singer-songwriter Darden Smith to serve as a guidebook for those seeking to bring more creativity into their daily life. "I’ve learned a lot about the creative life — or rather, how and why to make a creative life –– from more than three decades of earning a living as a musician and songwriter. The “how” is a mix of vision, talent, desire, drive, luck and perseverance. As for “why,” it comes down to this: My life is better when I make creativity the driving force in my day," says Smith. The Habit of Noticing is not a how-to manual. It’s not about craft. Rather, it is a collection of stories looking at the mindset of working artists – finding the spark, maintaining it through the rise and fall of a career, and letting the creativity evolve. An inside look at the struggles and successes in crafting and sustaining a life — and a living — as a working artist, The Habit of Noticing provides the foundation for an understanding and appreciation of what’s required to achieve this balance, and the depth and value we can draw from an artist’s approach to work and life.




The Habit of Being


Book Description

Contains letters written by Flannery O'Connor.




The Digested Read


Book Description

Literary ombudsman John Crace never met an important book he didn't like to deconstruct. From Salman Rushdie to John Grisham, Crace retells the big books in just 500 bitingly satirical words, pointing his pen at the clunky plots, stylistic tics and pretensions of Big Ideas, as he turns publishers' golden dream books into dross.




The Art of Habit Building


Book Description

Change your Habits now to change your life forever! Making progress on either making or breaking habits has never been so simple and achievable! We all definitely know that feeling. The gut-wrenching sense of guilt and frustration, the lack of drive and resolve; you know, the "I've failed yet again" feeling. And this happens every single time we slip up on creating a new habit. For some reason, even with best intentions, sheer willpower just doesn't cut it. Habit creation almost always seems daunting and doomed to fail. Why does it have to be be this way? Does it have to be this way at all? Dan Stevens in The Art of Habit Building proves otherwise. Equipped with a simple method based in Behaviour Chaining Psychology, Stevens guides you through the habit formation process and fully outlines a step-by-step process that guarantees your success with any habit; minimal willpower required. With The Art of Habit Building you will easily be able to Make literally any habit achievable, no matter how big Break down habits into simple, easy-to-achieve, steps that build up over time Harness the power of the subconscious mind to propel you toward your goals. Make the habit-building process automatic (so willpower isn't even necessary!) Leverage your current routines to form new routines And, most importantly, perfect any habit over time with ease Never struggle again with making great new habits stick! Master The Art of Habit Building like never before!







Leopold Segedin


Book Description

Learn about artist and educator Leopold Segedin's remarkable life through his own words and from more than one hundred works of art. An essay by historian David M. Sokol and an introduction by writer/publisher Richard Cahan are also included.