The Demon and the Angel Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration [Paperback]

A work of art, whether a painting, a dance, a poem, or a jazz composition, can be admired in its own right. But how does the artist actually create his or her work? What is the source of an artist's inspiration? What is the force that impels the artist to set down a vision that becomes art?
In this groundbreaking book, Edward Hirsch explores the concept ofduende, that mysterious, highly potent power of creativity that results in a work of art. With examples ranging from Federico García Lorca's wrestling with darkness as he discovered the fountain of words within himself to Martha Graham's creation of her most emotional dances, from the canvases of Robert Motherwell to William Blake's celestial visions, Hirsch taps into the artistic imagination and explains, in terms illuminating and emotional, how different artists respond to the power and demonic energy of creative impulse.

PRAISE FORTHE DEMON AND THE ANGEL

Unique, exhilarating, and virtuosic. --Booklist

PRAISE FORHOW TO READ A POEM

A lovely book, full of joy and wisdom. --The Baltimore Sun

A wise, exhilarating book; Edward Hirsch is the most endearing of guides to the ecstasies of reading poetry. --Susan Sontag

Only Mystery

I WISH I HAD BEEN IN Buenos Aires on October 20, 1933, when Federico García Lorca delivered a lecture that he called Juego y teoría del duende ( Play and Theory of the Duende ). Lorca was testifying to his own poetic universe, as his biographer Ian Gibson has recognized. It would have been electrifying to hear him, because on that night, addressing the members of the Friends of Art Club, the spirit of artistic mystery entered the room. It moved at the speed of Lorca's voice and burned like incense in the rich air. It was palpable to the audience, as if Lorca had thrown open the windows so that everyone present could hear the primitive wing beats shuddering ilóÅ