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 while doing so. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms. Free Play is directed towards people in any field who want to contact, honour and strengthen their own creative powers. It reveals how inspiration arises within us, how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed or obscured by certain unavoidable facts of life. 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. Wise, generous and timeless, it has been a touchstone for creativity since 1990 and it is a book that you will find yourself reaching for again and again in times of need. This 2024 edition includes a new afterword by the author and a foreword by Women's Prize for Fiction-winner Ruth Ozeki.

It's easy to assume that Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous and endlessly influential "I Have a Dream" speech was pre-scripted, vetted by others, written and re-written. It was not. Instead it was given on the fly, when from the audience Mahalia Jackson urged King off his prepared text. The result has inspired millions. In this 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, 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.

A critically acclaimed musician and teacher presents a guide to the dynamics of improvisationIt's easy to assume that Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous and endlessly influential I Have a Dream speech was prescripted, 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, 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.

"Den viktigaste bok om improvisation som jag hittills stött på" - det är pianisten Keith Jarretts omdöme om Spela fritt av Stephen Nachmanovitch. Denna inspirerande bok, i svensk översättning av Sven Smedberg, handlar om det spontana skapandets inre källor och om varifrån konsten i vidaste mening kommer. Den handlar om varför vi skapar och vad vi lär oss när vi gör det. Om flödet av obehindrad kreativ energi: glädjen att skapa konst i alla dess olika former. Spela fritt riktar sig till alla människor som vill söka kontakt med, vårda och stärka sin kreativa förmåga. Den integrerar material från ett brett urval av källor inom konst, vetenskap och andliga traditioner. Boken är fylld av roande och belysande anekdoter och originella metaforer, som visar hur inspirationen växer inifrån, hur inspirationen kan bli blockerad, hamna på fel spår eller förmörkas av vissa oundvikliga livsfakta, och till sist hur den kan frigöras - hur vi kan frigöras till att tala, sjunga, dansa, skriva, måla eller spela, med vår egen autentiska röst. Spela fritt är en bok för alla som musicerar. Men också för den som är kreativ på andra sätt eller som vill utveckla sin förmåga att skapa och att leva fritt. Boken har fått mycket och översvallande beröm: "... en text som är både behaglig och provocerande att läsa. Spela fritt är ingen faktabok utan snarare en hjälp till självhjälp. Full av energikickar och klokhet." (Mikael Strömblad, Aftonbladet) "Detta är en ovanligt intensiv, fullmatad, genomtänkt bok om det svåraste ämnet i hela världen: den mystiska kreativiteten. Om du vill bli intellektuellt informerad om hur människor egentligen skapar, då ska du läsa den åtminstone en gång." (Robert M. Pirsig, författare till Zen och konsten att sköta en motorcykel) "Jag önskar att Free Play fann vägen till varje skola, kontor, sjukhus och fabrik. Det är en synnerligen uppiggande bok och en synnerligen viktig sådan." (Violinisten Yehudi Menuhin) "Alla improvisationsböckers moder." (Jeffrey Agrell, University of Iowa)

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 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.