Every Writer Has a Thousand Faces

Book excerpt: Literary Nonfiction. Poet David Biespiel cracks open the creative process and invites readers to take a fresh look at the mysterious pathways of the imagination. "Failure is the engine of creativity," writes Biespiel, as he candidly tracks his own developent as a writer and challenges traditional assumptions about writing that can stifle creativity. The liberating message: Working past the brink of failure--being free to try and discard and try again--is what allows the creative process to playfully flourish, keeping the spirit open to unexpected discoveries. Both beginning and experienced writers--as well as artists, musicians, dancers, and anyone else on a creative path, will benefit from this elegant, surprising, and fresh perspective based on methods developed exclusively at the Attic, the unique literary studio Biespiel founded in Portland, Oregon in 1999. EVERY WRITER HAS A THOUSAND FACES will revolutionize the way readers look at their own creative process. It is a rich and rewarding book, a captivating glimpse into the inner life of some gifted writers and painters--and above all, a guide to a lifetime of discovery.