World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down - Softcover

McEwen, Christian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0872331466 ISBN 13: 9780872331464

Publisher: Bauhan Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

Over the course of ten years training teachers to write their own poems in order to pass the craft along to students, McEwen realized that nothing comes easily when life is conducted at a high rate of speed. She draws not only on personal experience, but on readings ranging from literary anecdote and poetry to Buddhism, anthropology, current news, and social history, all supplemented by interviews with contemporary writers and artists. This is a real reader's book, one that stands up as both sustained narrative and occasional inspiration.

McEwen espouses the pleasure to be found in slowing down, both for the ease and comfort of the thing itself (taking time to go for a walk, to write down one's dreams, to read, to talk, to pray), and for its impact on creativity. There are chapters on walking, talking, drawing, dreaming, on "making space," on pausing/praying, on telling stories. World Enough & Time is aimed at the educated general reader, could be used as a creative primer, and will be of interest to creative writing students and artists in every genre.

About this title

About the Author

Christian Mcewen Is A Writer, Educator, Workshop Facilitator, And Cultural Activist. Since Leaving New York City Twenty Years Ago, She Has Edited Two Anthologies And Produced A Video Documentary, Tomboys!, And A Play, Legal Tender: Women And The Secret Life Of Money. Her Book, World Enough And Time: On Creativity And Slowing Down (Bauhan 2011), Is Now In Its Sixth Printing And Is Also Available In An Audio Format. Her Most Recent Collection Is Sparks From The Anvil: The Smith College Poetry Interviews, Bauhan 2015). Christian Grew Up In The Borders Of Scotland And Now Lives In Western Massachusetts.

From the Back Cover

Making room for creativity and slowing down more fully, is not about squeezing yet another activity into an already overflowing schedule or tossing another ball into a deluge of obligations. It's about scheduling fewer activities, dropping some of the balls, and slowing down—creating what Christian McEwen so eloquently describes as “a rich sufficiency of time.” In World Enough & Time, McEwen quotes widely from literary and spiritual thinkers, some of them personal friends and some of them contemporary and historic figures, to explore the fruits of life lived slowly, deliberately, and with mindfulness. She draws on the wisdom of writers ranging from Henry David Thoreau to Mary Oliver and Adrienne Rich, artists and musicians from Auguste Rodin to Meredith Monk, and religious traditions from both the East and the West, and creates a unique combination of history, spirituality, and practical advice about incorporating the benefits of slowness into everyday living. What she calls “inspiration for the literate reader” does indeed inspire one to put down the smart phone and pick up pencil and paper, to deepen friendships through long, face-to-face conversations, and to step into one's life consciously by literal walking: putting one foot in front of the other, preferably under the open sky. The benefits? Not just the time for creativity, but the kind of peace of mind that welcomes and nurtures creative pursuits. A way of living that's deep, contemplative, and rich. Emotions that are felt. Friendships that nurture. A wider embrace of humanity.This is a book that can pull you back from the brink of “crazy-busy-ness,” of high-speed, high-tech life, and return you to your soul.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bauhan Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0872331466
• ISBN 13: 9780872331464
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368