The Demon and the Angel: Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration

A work of art, whether a painting, a dance, a poem, or a jazz composition, can be admired in its own right. But how does the artist actually create his or her work? What is the source of an artist's inspiration? What is the force that impels the artist to set down a vision that becomes art?
In this groundbreaking book, Edward Hirsch explores the concept of duende, that mysterious, highly potent power of creativity that results in a work of art. With examples ranging from Federico García Lorca's wrestling with darkness as he discovered the fountain of words within himself to Martha Graham's creation of her most emotional dances, from the canvases of Robert Motherwell to William Blake's celestial visions, Hirsch taps into the artistic imagination and explains, in terms illuminating and emotional, how different artists respond to the power and demonic energy of creative impulse.

Publishers Weekly

What is the ineffable force that drives artists, writers, musicians to create? Poet and critic Edward Hirsch (How to Read a Poem) looks for answers in The Demon and the Angel: Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration, an erudite exploration of the creative process. Hirsch probes Lorca's idea of the duende, the mysterious inspirational force (a sort of "trickster who meddles and stirs up trouble"), then looks at how artists like Emerson, Rilke and Yeats have explained the creative wellspring. Hirsch is especially interested in how American art forms of the 20th century abstract expressionism, modern dance, jazz have been influenced by a uniquely New World perception of the duende. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.