by Paula Weinman
We may only be three weeks into the semester, but our PWR students are already hard at work—including the staff here at our PWR website. As a team, we want to develop this website as a place where PWR majors can discuss, enlighten, and entertain. We’re a dynamic group, and we hope that you enjoy hearing the diverse voices we have among us.
“From the Desk” is a new blog feature this year, and just like our other sections (The Art of Writing and the Science of Writing), “From the Desk” seeks to present you with new ideas and fascinating questions. We’ll start the week off with “From the Desk,” responding to or reflecting on compelling articles and fresh perspectives that we’ve culled from the Internet throughout the week.
This week, we’ll be drawing your attention to an article published by The New Yorker called “Creativity Creep,” written by Joshua Rothman. It’s an engrossing article about our understanding of creativity and how it has evolved over the years.
Citing the wealth of books on the shelves that claim to bolster our creativity, Rothman suggests that we now see the creative process only in terms of production. In contrast, many Romantics saw creativity as “a way of being…[not] a way of doing…” Quoting Wordsworth, Rothman suggests that creativity can be “…’an auxiliary light’ that changes everything it illuminates.”
Creativity is a natural part of writing, and we don’t always stop to think about what it means. But often the way we think about a concept changes what we do with it. Why not take some time to think about the creative process this week? To get you started, we’ve collected a few of our favorite quotes about creativity. If you like, share some of your own and put them in the comments below:
- “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
- “But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.” -Madeleine L’Engle
- “Creativity takes courage.” -Henri Matisse
- “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of creative people.” –Leo Burnett
- “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” -Scott Adams
If you like, share some of your own and put them in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you.
Paula Weinman is a junior Professional Writing major at Taylor University, currently serving as the PWR Lounge’s website coordinator.
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