The Marginalian
The Marginalian

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The Six Motives of Creativity: Mary Gaitskill on Why Writers Write
The Six Motives of Creativity: Mary Gaitskill on Why Writers Write

The art of integrating the ego and the impulse for empathy in a dynamic call and response.

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Maira Kalman on Curiosity, Courage, Happiness, and the Two Keys to a Full Life
Maira Kalman on Curiosity, Courage, Happiness, and the Two Keys to a Full Life

“What protects you in this world from sadness and from the loss of an ability to do something? … Work and love.”

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2013’s Best Books on Writing and Creativity
2013’s Best Books on Writing and Creativity

Timeless wisdom and practical advice on the pleasures and perils of the written word and the creative life.

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The 13 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2013
The 13 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2013

How to think like Sherlock Holmes, make better mistakes, master the pace of productivity, find fulfilling work, stay sane, and more.

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Stay: The Social Contagion of Suicide and How to Preempt It
Stay: The Social Contagion of Suicide and How to Preempt It

“We are indebted to one another and the debt is a kind of faith — a beautiful, difficult, strange faith. We believe each other into being.”

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Life Is Like Blue Jelly: Margaret Mead Discovers the Meaning of Existence in a Dream
Life Is Like Blue Jelly: Margaret Mead Discovers the Meaning of Existence in a Dream

Revelations from the laboratory of the unconscious.

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The Cosmic Accident of Life: Alan Lightman on Dark Energy, the Multiverse, and Why We Exist
The Cosmic Accident of Life: Alan Lightman on Dark Energy, the Multiverse, and Why We Exist

How we drew the one we have from the zillions of possible universes in the cosmic lottery hat.

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The Greatest Commencement Address of All Time: Joseph Brodsky’s Six Rules for Playing the Game of Life Like a Winner
The Greatest Commencement Address of All Time: Joseph Brodsky’s Six Rules for Playing the Game of Life Like a Winner

“Of all the parts of your body, be most vigilant over your index finger, for it is blame-thirsty. A pointed finger is a victim’s logo.”

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The 13 Best Biographies, Memoirs, and History Books of 2013
The 13 Best Biographies, Memoirs, and History Books of 2013

From Alan Turing to Susan Sontag, by way of a lost cat, a fierce Victorian lady-journalist, and some very odd creative habits.

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Jeanette Winterson on Adoption, Belonging, and How We Use Storytelling to Save Ourselves
Jeanette Winterson on Adoption, Belonging, and How We Use Storytelling to Save Ourselves

“When we write we offer the silence as much as the story. Words are the part of silence that can be spoken.”

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