The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World (Vintage)

“A manifesto of sorts for anyone who makes art [and] cares for it.” —Zadie Smith “The best book I know of for talented but unacknowledged creators. . . . A masterpiece.” —Margaret Atwood “No one who is invested in any kind of art . . . can read The Gift and remain unchanged.” —David Foster Wallace By now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. This book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared. An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.

By now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. Widely available again after twenty-five years, this book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared. An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.

The Barnes & Noble Review

Twenty-five years ago, the writer Lewis Hyde met with his editor, Jonathan Galassi, who asked him to define the audience for his groundbreaking work on creativity and society, The Gift. After discarding his reflexive response --"all thinking humans" -- as too grandiose, Hyde replied "poets." Then, as now, poets had a difficult enough time creating an audience for their own work, much less serving as the primary audience for someone else's work of nonfiction. It seems, therefore, a minor miracle of publishing that the work not only made it into print but has quietly found its way to classic status, as evidenced by the recently released 25th anniversary edition.

Starting with the premise that the work of art is a gift and not a commodity, this revolutionary book ranges across anthropology, literature, economics, and psychology to show how the 'commerce of the creative spirit' functions in the lives of artists and in culture as a whole. When the Puritans first landed in Massachusetts, they discovered a thing so curious about the Indians' feelings for property that they felt called upon to give it a name. Examines the concept of gifts in anthropological terms and uses this approach to analyze the situation of creative artists and their gifts to society. Discusses the argument that a work of art is essentially a gift and not a commodity.From the Trade Paperback edition. Discusses the argument that a work of art is essentially a gift and not a commodity. From the Trade Paperback edition