Matthew Niermann

The Humble Creative Matthew Niermann

Open any other book on creativity, and you will hear the cliched rallying cries of current creative culture: Be True to Yourself! Find Your Voice! Express Your Authentic Self! This book is different. This book will not tell you to ""Be true to yourself,"" but will implore you to ""Deny yourself."" This book will not repeat the slogan, ""Find your Voice,"" but will ask you to consider how your moral weaknesses are inhibiting your creativity. Examining the current creative culture, The Humble Creative argues that creativity can easily become disordered by vices that Christianity has long understood, but most have forgotten; vices such as vainglory, envy, sloth, anger, lust of the eyes, greed, and pride. The Humble Creative integrates the long-held Christian understanding of moral vice with creativity, providing an accessible exploration of individual vices and their role in disordering creativity--ultimately offering exercises for moral and creative formation. Written in an accessible way, this book explores the stories of several individuals whose creativity have become disordered by vice, introducing the reader to the often overlooked relationship between the moral character of the creative and the successful pursuit of flourishing creativity.