The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Rick Rubin

Jan 2023 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Rick Rubin

About this audiobook

The #1 New York Times bestseller.

"A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning accomplishment.” —Anne Lamott

From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us.

“I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” —Rick Rubin

Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn’t, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone’s life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities.

The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments—and lifetimes—of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.

Ratings and reviews

Rick Rubin skillfully hones in on many of the effervescent and elusive aspects of being a creative. I absolutely love how he presents creativity as a source that all can draw upon once you're practiced enough. That there are methods in this book to tap into the source and readily available to all is quite possibly the greatest service he can offer any aspiring artist of any stripe. I will absolutely read this again and scream from the top of the mountains to any who will listen that this book is worth your time.

Rick Rubin really puts the creative process into a great and understandable perspective. I would highly recommend.

I just finished the audio book, but may have to buy a physical copy as well, there's a lot of knowledge and inspiration packed into this 🤯

About the author

Rick Rubin is a nine-time GRAMMY-winning producer, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time and the most successful producer in any genre by Rolling Stone. He has collaborated with artists from Tom Petty to Adele, Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys to Slayer, Kanye West to the Strokes, and System of a Down to Jay-Z.