The secondary title “A Way of Being” of Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act is a bit of a misleading title as this book is only a very loose, non-continuous collection of simple but powerful ideas, what often feel as unfiltered thoughts and contradictory suggestions rather than a coherent framework for the life of an artist. And this is precisely where the power of the book lies. It is full of observations, intuition and understanding that many artistic minds and souls can often relate to but no attempt whatsoever has been made to try and achieve any level of internal coherence across the chapters, the vast majority of which are simply short 2 to 5 page musings each on different mindsets, metaphors, worldviews, abstract techniques and examples.

The book feels kind of similar to what would happen if I just proofread my notes and published them as is otherwise. This lack of structure and coherence, however, allows each of the chapters, ideas or thoughts – however one wishes to describe them – to flourish and develop to their fullest extent without being constrained by any frameworks, such that the reader can freely engage with each one of them separately and then just pick and choose what resonates with them most personally at any given moment – something that Rubin advocates for himself as well. What most resonated with me right now, likely due to my perfectionism and long list of unfinished projects, was the idea that each artwork is or contains the image of its creator at that particular point in time and space and should therefore perhaps be released already when it is adequate, rather than when it is perfect. One can always come back to remake, reshape or remix it if it becomes relevant again but the odds are that it will just stay in limbo forever otherwise. This, as Steven Pressfield would put it, is unfair to the works, yourself and the potential audience and by extension, the entirety of humanity.

Personally, I would only have wished for longer chapters that would further explore the implications, origins and reasoning behind most ideas. To continue the notes analogy, most chapters usually contain only a single idea, observation or suggestion and perhaps a note on the approximate direction of potential further research, applications or further thinking but in most cases, this is left for the reader. Therefore, the book does not quite reach the top of my list of the best non-fictions in terms of being well written, structured and crafted on the whole or providing a highly gripping and informative reading experience, although due to its simplicity and short chapters, it is very easy, pleasant and quick to get through. Yet, it perfectly captures many artistic experiences, struggles and tendencies and provides valuable suggestions for various alternate approaches and different starting points on which to construct one’s own artistic philosophy.

I would highly recommend The Creative Act: A Way of Being to everyone that has ever been engaged or interested in the artistic process. I imagine it may be invaluable whenever facing writer’s block, which I shall definitely keep in mind myself for when the next one inevitably comes. Furthermore, if you ever question the point of creating or face other philosophical dilemmas in the domains of art and creation, which can also exceed far beyond those who traditionally call themselves artists, this book may provide very interesting food for thought. Talk of the “Source” and the various ambiguities expressed in what often approaches spiritual language may be off-putting to some but may just be the only honest way to speak of the experience associated with creativity and I thus invite you to skim through the book with an open mind!