The Rise

December 2, 2013
Curator and art historian Lewis’s definition of “the rise,” like her book, is a slippery one—at once intuitively familiar but not easy to pin down. Her approach is less an exploration of successes derived from failure than a discursive examination of the familiar labors and cognitive sensations that surround failure, alongside a celebration of the new resources gained in the process of failing. These come from diverse and seemingly unrelated vantages: a great work of dance’s genesis as a deadline neared; the endurance found through ecstatic surrender during an Arctic exploration; and the more predictable studies of business failures that lead to unexpected success, like the famed Hollywood “Black List” of “screenplays that failed to find any notice or acclaim were now ranked and recast as the ones to watch.” Readers seeking toolkits and exercises should look elsewhere, and the book’s later chapters run through familiar trends in positive psychology (“grit,” innovation through play) that lack the je ne sais quois of the successful early sections. Nevertheless, Lewis’s erudition in art and history is matched by her sympathy to the iterative failures of great art, making inspiring reading for those in the process of creation. Illus. Agent: Eric Simonoff, William Morris Endeavor.

January 1, 2014

Successful people may live a life of fame, fortune, and glamour but may have experienced failure to get where they are now. Art curator Lewis (photography & painting dept., Yale Univ. Sch. of Art) contends that one must experience failure to achieve success. She interviews various luminaries to understand the challenges they faced to get where they are today. Interviewees include choreographer Paul Taylor, Arctic explorer Ben Saunders, psychologist Angela Duckworth, and film executive and Hollywood Black List creator Franklin Leonard. Through extensive research, Lewis also discusses the lives of Samuel F.B. Morse and Frederick Douglass. Lewis selects conversations and research from diverse people, past and present, and from various professions to argue that everyone, regardless of career choice, experiences failure and success. In this way, she analyzes their courage, perseverance, and creative practice. VERDICT A well-written book that examines creativity, failure, and success. Recommended for anyone who wants to comprehend the value of innovation and discovery, as well as undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, and researchers of psychology, sociology, and the visual and performing arts.--Tina Chan, SUNY Oswego

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