The Marginalian
The Marginalian

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The Charming Doodles Charles Darwin’s Children Left All Over the Manuscript of ‘On the Origin of Species’
The Charming Doodles Charles Darwin’s Children Left All Over the Manuscript of ‘On the Origin of Species’

From fish with legs to carrot cavalries, an endearing testament to the human life of science.

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John Steinbeck on Writing, the Crucible of Creativity, and the Mobilizing Power of the Impossible
John Steinbeck on Writing, the Crucible of Creativity, and the Mobilizing Power of the Impossible

“A good writer always works at the impossible.”

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Adrienne Rich on What a Great Blue Heron Taught Her About the Intersection of Art, Science, and Politics in Human Life
Adrienne Rich on What a Great Blue Heron Taught Her About the Intersection of Art, Science, and Politics in Human Life

In praise of the moments when “a piece of the universe is revealed as if for the first time.”

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The Parallels Between Being an Artist and Being a Parent
The Parallels Between Being an Artist and Being a Parent

“…an understanding deeper than my own of what it is to be human, and a mysterious revelation of a radiant order.”

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Poet Sarah Kay on How We Measure Creative Success, Being a Working Artist in Today’s World, and the Only Antidote to Our Endemic Fear of Missing Out
Poet Sarah Kay on How We Measure Creative Success, Being a Working Artist in Today’s World, and the Only Antidote to Our Endemic Fear of Missing Out

…and a wonderful fable about the three different ways of relating to one’s work, each essential for the whole of art.

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James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni’s Extraordinary Forgotten Conversation About the Language of Love and What It Takes to Be Truly Empowered
James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni’s Extraordinary Forgotten Conversation About the Language of Love and What It Takes to Be Truly Empowered

“If you don’t understand yourself you don’t understand anybody else.”

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Patti Smith Reads Her Beautiful Letter to Robert Mapplethorpe About How He Taught Her What It Means to Be an Artist
Patti Smith Reads Her Beautiful Letter to Robert Mapplethorpe About How He Taught Her What It Means to Be an Artist

“You drew me from the darkest period of my young life, sharing with me the sacred mystery of what it is to be an artist.”

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Studs Terkel on the Dignity of Work, Why We Do What We Do, and the Extraordinary Dreams of Ordinary People
Studs Terkel on the Dignity of Work, Why We Do What We Do, and the Extraordinary Dreams of Ordinary People

A humbling oral history of our search for meaning, mattering, and a sense of worth.

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Cry, Heart, But Never Break: A Remarkable Illustrated Meditation on Loss and Life
Cry, Heart, But Never Break: A Remarkable Illustrated Meditation on Loss and Life

“Who would enjoy the sun if it never rained? Who would yearn for the day if there were no night?”

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The Pancake King: A Lovely Vintage Children’s Book About How Success and Prestige Can Hijack Our Sense of Purpose
The Pancake King: A Lovely Vintage Children’s Book About How Success and Prestige Can Hijack Our Sense of Purpose

A sweet, subversive parable about the tradeoffs between creativity and commerce and the treacherous way in which prestige can hijack our sense of purpose.

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