THE STORYTELLING ANIMAL – “Not a Happy Ending”

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

by Jonathan Gottschall

Houghton Mifflin Hartcourt, 2012

250 Pages, $24

This book begins with startling questions, such as, “The riddle of fiction comes to this: Evolution is ruthlessly utilitarian. How has the seeming luxury of fiction not been eliminated from human life?” and picks up other equally thought-provoking ones along the way—why is storytelling fixated on trouble, why do boys and girls play in different ways, what is the link between madness and creativity and exactly what role do stories play in religion?

THE WRITER’S CAVE (CD) – “Why writers write what they do.”

Brand new, studio-recorded CD available here for $10 and from amazon.com for $12.

The Writer’s Cave is a dramatic presentation by poet/writer/playwright John Lehman. It is full of true examples of how the creative process works, including such examples as a first-hand encounter with Orson Welles and the inside story of the book, America’s Greatest Unknown Poet: Lorine Niedecker.