Ernst Cassirer on the Gift of the Artist

Ernst Cassirer on the Gift of the Artist

Keywords Ernst Cassirer, An Essay on Man, Lewis Hyde, Seeing, Artistic Observation, Gift, William Blake “The past is preserved only in darkness, the future is not raised to the level of an image, as something which can be anticipated. It is the symbolic expression which first creates the possibility of looking backward and looking forward… […]

Haruki Murakami’s Earliest Writing Motivations

Haruki Murakami Baseball

“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.” ~Daniel H. Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Haruki Murakami wrote an introductory essay, The Birth of My Kitchen Table Fiction, when he […]

Famous Writers on the Love of Reading

Famous Writers on the Love of Reading

Keywords Writers, Reading, Readers, Writers are readers, Famous Writers on the love of reading “I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has so far found. By reading the writings of the most interesting minds in history, we meditate with our own minds and theirs as well. This to […]

10 Blog Writing Tips With Book Recommendations

I regret nothing. I say that in the spirit of the beautiful French song that is now synonymous with the 2010 Christopher Nolan film, Inception, “Non, je ne regrette rien,” I, too, regret nothing about my blogging journey. The 10 blog writing tips are ones I learned the hard way. Nonetheless, it’s fun to assess […]

How I Plan My Freshmen Composition Course

Freshmen Composition Course Syllabus

“Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.”  ~E.L. Doctorow After teaching the same freshmen composition course 25 times over the past four years, I have found my sweet spot in the way I set up my […]