The Creative Act
A Way of Being
Rick Rubin
“All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now.”
Available as Hardback, eBook, Downloadable audio
From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable.
Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn’t, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output; it’s about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone’s life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities.
The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distils the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments – and lifetimes – of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.
“This book is a companion to anyone on the creative path; for me, Rick Rubin’s attention, consideration, ideas have dug themselves down deep into my consciousness and grown with my work, so that over time, I have found myself in the shelter of a huge resplendent tree, and remembered that it all started with a word or two from a person who really, really listened. May it start something similar in you”
Kae Tempest
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“A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning accomplishment”
Anne Lamott
“The legendary producer of artists from Adele to Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash to Jay-Z, distils the insights of a glittering career to reveal how to get the best out of musicians — and offers useful lessons for the rest of us in the process”
financial Times
“An existential enquiry into the nature of creativity, art and being part of the human race … a deep look at the most fundamental of human impulses”
big Issue
“Rick Rubin is the definition of a creative genius and he has put his wisdom in one place and it is possibly the most inspiring book on creativity I have ever read … For those wanting to feel some new life and confidence in their creative bones, this book is a godsend”
Matt Haig
Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin is a nine-time GRAMMY-winning producer, named one of the ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’ by TIME and ‘The most successful producer in any genre’ by Rolling Stone. He has collaborated with artists from Tom Petty to Adele, Johnny Cash to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys to Slayer, The Strokes and System of a Down to Jay-Z.
@RickRubin
