Most of us know F. Scott Fitzgerald as the author of The Great Gatsby—that canonical text, ubiquitous in high school English classes and revisited in a recent film version. But the American author wrote a number of other works—haunting, evocative novels like Tender is the Night, as well as a few collections of short stories.
First published in 1931 in The Saturday Evening Post, “Babylon Revisited” follows the main character, Charlie, as he tries to regain custody of his daughter.
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Though we often think about creativity as the production of an original work of art—a painting or a novel, perhaps—creativity is also the ability to synthesize and build on information. Creativity is innovation and problem solving; it’s seeing patterns and learning to explain them. When we say that something provokes creativity, we usually mean that it is in some way inspiring or that it encourages people to think outside of the box.
New research on creativity at work, however, indicates that creating the conditions for creativity might be less about inspiring an individual than it is about creating good teams and a space for respectful, common dialogue.
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In his recent TED Talk, Princeton professor Uri Hasson investigates what he calls “a device that can record my memories, my dreams, my ideas, and transmit them to your brain.” Drawing on his research, Hasson argues that this “game-changing technology” already exists—that it has existed for thousands of years, though we are only now learning to understand how it works.
The technology is “human communication” and, most important, “effective storytelling.”
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What are you reading this weekend? We’re thinking about the power of metaphor to shape our experience—and even the way we understand ourselves. We’re also enjoying some insightful author interviews; reading six of the best short stories published this year; reflecting on one man’s astonishing feat of memory; and worrying about the loss of humanity in the workplace.
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When it comes to teaching, I confess that I’m a sucker for iconic texts: Shakespeare’s Othello, Mary Godwin Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Frankly, it bothers me that these authors’ fame derives from ubiquitous cultural allusions so divorced from their work. Boris Karloff immediately comes to mind when people hear the name Frankenstein. People blithely characterize someone as a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-type” without knowing the original story. And they refer to a talented person as a Shakespeare without having read enough of the Bard to know why he’s a genius. With the mission of connecting cultural allusions to their sources, I have introduced these texts to Books@Work readers, and several anecdotes will tell that tale of how well my approach has worked.
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Teaching with Books@Work has given me an exceptional opportunity to learn about myself at work. It alters my understanding of what it means to teach literature well, enhancing my appreciation for literature, as well as for the artistry of teaching.
It also, not coincidentally, demands a fair amount of humility.
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Leo Tolstoy, the nineteenth-century Russian author, is best known for Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Both novels are massive, brick-like tomes. But Tolstoy wrote accessible short stories, too. “The Three Questions” was published in 1885, as part of a larger collection.
“Three Questions” begins with a king and his desire to do right—or, at least, to avoid failure.
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We’ve written a great deal about the power of conversations on this blog. Books@Work professors have considered how our seminars create space for hard conversations in the workplace and how they help us bridge differences and share ideas. When writing our reflections—our “Musings”—we continually refer back to our own conversations with participants. Conversations, we recognize time and again, open the door to empathy and understanding. They bring us closer to one another—especially when we take the time to share our stories and listen to those of others.
Recent research confirms our sense that conversation has the power to transform people and their relationships with others.
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We were delighted to participate in the first annual Cleveland Humanities Festival, in partnership with the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. Supported by Ohio Humanities, the Festival hosted speakers and events around the city over a two-week period in early April. Linked by the theme “Remembering War,” the Festival sought to “engage the public in addressing some of society’s most challenging issues and pressing concerns” in partnership with the region’s major museums, educational institutions, and arts organizations. For us, the Festival provided an opportunity to bring Books@Work beyond the workplace, and use diverse narrative representations of life experience to challenge assumptions and appreciate the memories, stories, and courage of others.
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Looking for something to read this weekend? We are intrigued by recent research on the importance of groups to happy, healthy workplaces. What’s more, we’re celebrating spring with reflections on literary essays and sports, sharing a favorite Books@Work book, and thinking about the relationship between language and our lived experience.
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