Cute inspiration for beginners.
Fowler’s self-help debut takes readers down the rabbit hole in search of creative courage.
Fowler, a certified creativity coach, says, “Imagination is one of my favorite destinations.” Using Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as an allegory for the creative process, she hopes to inspire others to begin creative endeavors by throwing off the shackles of fear and procrastination. In this slim edition, she defines creative types as “Creativites.” In order to overcome artistic fears, Creativites should name the monsters that terrorize them into inaction: Dobie Doubter, Bully B*tch, Fluke Flinger, Poser Dozer, and Evil Dictator—the “creativity crushers” or mental roadblocks to artistic success. Dobie Doubter, for example, whispers cautionary tales into the Creativite’s ear, causing doubt that success is possible. Adult readers can finish this brisk, imaginative pep talk in an hour or two; however, the text may be more appealing to younger readers, as the narrative’s soft, childlike voice is easily accessible: “Fear tells us we can’t lose if we don’t play; we can’t fail if we don’t try. Now isn’t that just silly?” The book’s eye-catching layout features colorful page borders and pen-and-ink drawings reminiscent of Wonderland and its characters. For example, the beginning of a chapter about “grinning at fear” showcases the Cheshire Cat’s wide, toothy grin. The Wonderland analogy carries through to the end—no need to be afraid, because the Queen of Hearts won’t really hurt anyone—and the tone is both enthusiastic and humorous. Fowler’s rudimentary advice is basically what creative types already know; e.g., don’t compare yourself (or your work) to others, and yes, mistakes do happen. Describing the time she spilled paint on her artwork and turned the mess into a beautiful correction, she urges readers to “embrace the blob.” Fowler’s simplistic analogy would be more memorable if she had included some hands-on creative exercises. Nevertheless, readers looking for a short burst of creative inspiration may be prompted by this whimsical pat on the back.
Cute inspiration for beginners.Pub Date: June 11, 2015
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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