Catching up to genius

This week: the genius of Lynda Barry, advice from William Blake, misheard lyrics, and more...

In this week's newsletter: the genius of Lynda Barry, advice from William Blake, desert island discs, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:  For years, I've been saying nobody deserves a MacArthur "Genius" Grant more than Lynda Barry, and it finally happened!!! I drew the drawing above after meeting her twelve years ago. Since then, hjer work has meant so much to me. I would not be doing the work I'm doing without her. Among other things, she's taught me that four-year-olds will get you unstuck, your hands are a means of resistance, the page is a place, "Does this suck?" is a terrible question, collage is what you do when you're stuck, the power of drawing Batman, and drawings have the right to exist. Go out and read all her books.   This week I read Hot Comb, a book of comics by Ebony Flowers, a student of Barry's who seems to have absorbed her teacher's brushwork and ability to conjure childhood.    Advice from William Blake via Kris Kristofferson: "You'll be miserable if you don't do what you're supposed to do."   I talked to Texas Monthly about all sorts of stuff.   Lovely interview: Thom Yorke picks his discs for a desert island. (I really like his latest solo record, ANIMA.)   When a guitar pedal becomes an instrument.   A look inside Richard Feynman's calculus notebook.   I took my mom to see the Downton Abbey movie at the Alamo Drafthouse, and it was exactly what it should be.   A late RIP to Hazel Smith, who was the MVP of Ken Burns' documentary, Country Music. (I'd like to get in a time machine and visit Hillbilly Central.)    RIP lyricist and poet Robert Hunter. He believed, like me, that mishearing is a creative act. Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to someone who'd like it or, even better, buy them a book! If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin PS. San Francisco! I'm coming to Litquake in October. Tickets here. (Want me to come speak at your event? Drop me a line!) Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2019 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 19885 Detroit Road Box #222 Rocky River, OH 44116 You're getting this email because you signed up for it at austinkleon.com. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Amazon Affiliate links offset the cost of sending these missives.

Cut up and play

In this week's newsletter: thinking about collage, book and music recommendations, and more...

In this week's newsletter: collages, book and music recommendations, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:  As I figure out the next book, I've been making lots of collages in my diary, and thinking about collage and how it's an intelligence in your fingers, a kind of time travel, a tool for locating your present between past and future, and why it works so well for me when I'm stuck or in between projects. (I've also been thinking about how my favorite Magritte paintings are terrific examples of what I call "The simplest cut.")   David Epstein's Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World is both a validation of how I've chosen to go about my work and a kick in the pants to not get complacent, stretch out, and go down weird paths. (It's also, as Ryan Holiday suggested to me, a parenting book in disguise.)   How pencils are made.   My friend Jez asked for some favorite artists memoirs and I recommended: Philip Glass, Words Without Music; Patti Smith, Just Kids; Sally Mann, Hold Still; Duncan Hannah, 20th Century Boy; Mary Karr, Lit; Alison Bechdel, Fun Home; and Joe Brainard, I Remember.   Anthony Bourdain's writing desk is one of several of his possessions that will be up for auction in October. (Man, I miss him.)   Radiohead guitarist and composer Jonny Greenwood has started a new classical music label.   I have mixed feelings about Ken Burns' Country Music (personally, I think Peter Coyote's narration is too gloomy for the subject — would love to hear it narrated by Willie or Dolly) but it's been good to hear old favorites and learn about about new-to-me musicians and songwriters like Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. (If you're on Spotify, the Ken Burns Country Music Experience is pretty cool.)   Ear candy: my son and I have been listening a bunch to Four Tet's New Energy. (We especially like the track "Two Thousand and Seventeen.")   We pay a lot of attention to artists and not enough to the champions of artists: the people who help get the work out of the artists and into the world. RIP cartoon editor Lee Salem. RIP musicologist John Cohen. RIP editor Susan Kamil. (Here are remembrances from Ruth Reichl and Elizabeth McCracken.) RIP musician Ric Ocasek, who also produced the work of other great musicians.    Living on in doodles. Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to someone who'd like it or, even better, buy them a book! If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2019 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 19885 Detroit Road Box #222 Rocky River, OH 44116 You're getting this email because you signed up for it at austinkleon.com. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Amazon Affiliate links offset the cost of sending these missives.

Rules of the Studio

In this week's newsletter: setting down some rules, keeping it on the one, and more...

In this week's newsletter: setting down some rules, keeping it on the one, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:  My boys love to work alongside me, but they're rascals, so we had to set down the rules of the studio. (Rules or no rules, it's hard to get much work done when they visit, so I usually end up copying their drawings and poems — copying is how we learn!)   Highlights from my interview with Debbie Millman live at SXSW.   I'm re-reading Gringos, my fifth re-read out of five Charles Portis novels, and I recommend it and all the others. What a brilliant writer.   Tina Turner is having the time of her life. "I just kept going," she says. "You just keep going, and you hope that something will come." (Where was that quote when I was writing Keep Going?!?)   Today is the 200th birthday of Clara Schumann, "music's unsung Renaissance woman."   Patti Smith's reading life. "I only finish books I love," she says. (The first of my tips for reading more.)   Mary Oliver: "If you're working a few hours a day and you've got a good book to read, and you can go outside to the beach and dig for clams, you're okay." (I don't have a beach, but I can walk out my front door and get a taco. Further reading: "A checklist for every day" and "a portable routine.")   RIP photographers Robert Frank and Fred Herzog.   RIP artist and songwriter Daniel Johnston. If you don't know his work, check out the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. (Some of my favorite songs: "Walking The Cow," M. Ward's cover of "To Go Home," and Beach House's cover of "Some Things Last a Long Time.")   Remember this week, the rule of funk: keep it on the one. Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to someone who'd like it or, even better, buy them a book! If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin PS. Now that I'm back in Texas, you can get all of my books signed and personalized from the good folks at Bookpeople. They ship everywhere! Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2019 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 1101 W 34th St Box #102 Austin, TX 78705 You're getting this email because you signed up for it at austinkleon.com. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Amazon Affiliate links offset the cost of sending these missives.