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Canongate has scooped Free Play, a book on improvisation, play and creativity by computer artist and pioneer of improvisational violin Stephen Nachmanovitch.
Jamie Byng, c.e.o. of Canongate, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from PRH America, and Canongate will publish straight into its Canons list in January 2024.
First published in 1990, and a perennial seller for Penguin US ever since, as well as previously translated into nine languages, Free Play has never been published in the UK.
This edition will also feature a new introduction by the Women’s Prize-winning novelist Ruth Ozeki, and Canongate will henceforth also handle all translation rights on behalf of the author.
The book is described by the publisher as "a masterful and joyful meditation on how improvisation can be applied not just to art but to the art of living – and in doing so unlock a person’s inherent creativity". The synopsis said: "Free Play is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation, and recognising, as Nachmanovitch puts it, that ‘the creative process is a spiritual path. This adventure is about us, about the deep self, the composer in all of us, about originality, meaning not that which is all new, but that which is fully and originally ours.’"
Byng commented: "There are many reasons why Stephen’s wide-ranging book is so remarkable. But in essence, it relates to the life-affirming beauty of his thinking, the clarity and depth of his insights and the elegance of his prose. Free Play is as inspiring as it is illuminating, and I find it hard to believe that it has been overlooked by UK publishers for the last 33 years.
"I think Canongate can bring this gem to a sizeable new audience, just as we did with Lewis Hyde’s The Gift, another modern masterpiece that Free Play seems a sibling to. And anyone who loves Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act (and many people do) will be similarly taken by Free Play."
Nachmanovitch performs and teaches internationally as an improvisational violinist. In the 1970s he was a pioneer in free improvisation on violin, viola and electric violin. He has presented master classes and workshops at many conservatories and universities, and has had numerous appearances on radio, television and festivals. He is the author of two books on the creative process, Free Play and The Art of Is (New World Library).
He added: "Now more than ever, we need to stand up for the power, the joy and the necessity of human creativity. Free Play is meant to evoke what happens when you are flowing with spontaneous music, and the joy of getting out of your own way so that flowing and flowering can happen more often.
"We can open a space together in which it is desirable to dig deep into our spiritual reserves and create something new in the moment – music, art, writing, cooking, dancing, speaking, acting – whatever is done with the skilful body."