The Captive Muse: On Creativity and Its Inhibition

Rating:
Summary: Freeing the Muse
Review: The Captive Muse is a fresh and remarkable look at the creative process and its inhibition -- the nightmarish experience known as writer's or creative block. Susan Kolodny, a psychologist by profession and a poet by avocation, analyzes the various causes of creative block and explores ways by which artists might free themselves and release their creative powers. She addresses prevailing attitudes of the general public and some mental health professionals -- both of which frequently consider art and the making of art to be superfluous activities at best, and symptoms of mental illness at worst -- and in clear, graceful prose guides the reader through the many hazards littering the artist's path. The book is profound and meaningful and triggered all kinds of insights for this reader. A must for anyone engaged in the making of art, and a powerful tool those whose art is a life lived thoughtfully and well.

Rating:
Summary: A Gem of a Book
Review: This is a gem of a book. In it, Dr. Kolodny gives us an opportunity to listen and think with her as she tracks the elusive process of creativity and the many ways it can be hindered. In clear and rich detail she shares with us the breadth of her experience as both a therapist and a poet, and she shows us that there are so many ways to understand and open up these blocks. In this slim volume there is an abundance. It is a thoughtful and generous book. Enjoy!

Emily S. Brewer,M.D.