The creative spark resides in all of us, but some activate that spark more than others. In 50-plus interviews, musicians, authors, explorers and chefs speak about what drives them, how they see in fresh ways, and what inspires them to turn their visions into art.

Introduction Emerging from the Chrysalis Traveler’s Mind Pico Iyer World of Wonder Barbara Kingsolver Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone Lucinda Williams Front Porch Songs Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Reason for Hope Jane Goodall Timeless Love Smokey Robinson King of California Dave Alvin Fearless Melissa Etheridge The Godfather Francis Ford Coppola Heart to Heart Joan Rivers Peaceful Troubadour Graham Nash Sweet Judy Judy Collins Field of Dreams Mike Krukow To the Ends of the Earth Dervla Murphy Songs from the Heartland Greg Brown Walking on a Wire Richard Thompson How Sweet It Is Melvin Seals Deep Down Amy Tan Say Anything David Sedaris Honest Outlaw Merle Haggard The People’s Chef Juan Cuevas Hope Dies Last Studs Terkel Sending Down Roots in Tuscany Frances Mayes The Minstrel in the Gallery Ian Anderson To Boldly Go Jake Shimabukuro The Impresario Warren Hellman The Godmother of Soul Sharon Jones Circus of Life Kinky Friedman Hero’s Journey Phil Cousineau The Long View Kyle Connaughton Speaking for the Seas Sylvia Earle Acknowledgments Credits About the Author

Michael Shapiro is the author of A Sense of Place, which was reviewed or excerpted by the New York Times, Washington Post, National Geographic Traveler, San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications. He was interviewed by PBS, CNN and many local outlets and will follow up with all of these. Shapiro is well-connected in the media and will be able to create press coverage through his contacts. Strong social media presence, especially Facebook Dedicated Facebook page Numerous author events in the San Francisco Bay Area and other regions Special events at the Exploratorium and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Build podcast, blog, and YouTube channel called Fanning the Creative Spark to support the book Create alliances and leverage organizations with memberships that care about the creative process, e.g., writing groups, writing courses, book clubs, partner advocacy groups Seek endorsements from influential people and thought leaders across the spectrum, such as Seth Godin, Michael Krasny, Chip and Dan Heath, Elizabeth Gilbert, David Kelley TV and radio interviews Dedicated book website, author website, publisher's website

Introduction: Emerging from the Chrysalis Something magical happened as I completed this book. One evening just before sunset I was in our backyard watering the planter boxes. On a stem of parsley I noticed a startling pattern of color, concentric rings of orange and black dots. Looking closer I saw the segments of a swallowtail caterpillar and could identify its tiny feet. For the next few days the caterpillar chomped on the parsley plant, absorbing energy for the next stage of its life. I placed a stick in the pot, at an angle to give the caterpillar a place to hang its chrysalis. The caterpillar’s appearance felt like a message from the universe. For many months I’d been working on transforming interviews I’d conducted with some of the world’s most creative people into a coherent set of chapters. I’d distilled the essence of these interviews into a tonic of ideas about the creative process. And I’d written biographical introductions that sought to put each person’s life in perspective and offer insights about the sources of his or her art. As I write this, on 2019’s summer solstice, our adopted caterpillar (my wife has given it the gender-neutral name Jordan) is undergoing a miraculous transformation into a butterfly. During the past week, we’ve watched the caterpillar turn into a chrysalis that matches the color of the branch from which it hangs, its striated brown camouflage the antithesis of the colorful creature it was just a few days ago. Yet it’s what is happening inside the chrysalis that is truly astonishing. The caterpillar is dissolving, using enzymes to digest itself. It’s being broken down into nonspecific cells that can be used for any part of the butterfly. Yet some “highly organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process,” according to Scientific American. Each of these constellations of cells is programmed to build a specific part of the butterfly. There are imaginal discs for wings, for eyes, for legs, for every part of the butterfly. Typically, after about two weeks, a yellow-and-black swallowtail butterfly will crack open the chrysalis, dry its wings in the morning sun, and fly off seeking nectar. Why bring up a caterpillar in a book about creativity? First, because it offers such a rich metaphor, and the name “imaginal discs” suggests that making art depends on imagination. And to prepare for its transformation, the caterpillar needs to first feed itself, just as a musician or author must absorb the thoughts and influences that come from songs, books, conversations, memories, and observations. Then many creative people seek to isolate themselves, cocoon-like, to escape the relentless drumbeat of popular culture so they can hear their own voices. “What I noticed at an early stage was that the writers I admire are living a long way from the world,” the author Pico Iyer told me. “The great originals are originals because they’re living outside the received conversation, outside secondhand words and secondhand ideas, to some extent living in a space of their own where they’re able to hear their deeper self and come up with things completely outside the norm. I think that’s why they really shake us.” Isn’t that what we crave in this era of information overload: songs or stories that really shake us and offer new ways of seeing the world, of hearing ourselves, of feeling, on a soul level, our deepest truths? That’s why I’ve chosen the 31 creative people in this book. They’re original, pioneering, dynamic, and insatiably curious. The authors, musicians, and others profiled in these pages could coast on their earlier accomplishments, but every one has continued to seek adventurous new avenues for igniting their creative spark. And those who are now deceased, such as Joan Rivers and Sharon Jones, worked until virtually the day they died. Of course, seeking solitude to hear one’s inner voice doesn’t mean we should shut out those who came before us. As Iowa folk singer Greg Brown says, “I feel links back to a time that not much is known about. Songs, poetry, whatever you want to call it, that urge, it just goes way, way, way back there. And that’s a good connection to feel to life. It’s hard for me to imagine life without that.” Which takes us back to butterflies. As author Barbara Kingsolver notes, monarch butterflies that travel from Appalachia down to Mexico may live for just a few weeks. During a migration, one generation dies and the next is born—several times. That means a butterfly “returning” from Mexico to Kentucky could be the great-great-grandchild of the one that departed months before. And yet it returns to the exact spot from which its ancestors departed. Scientists don’t fully understand this phenomenon, but perhaps the butterflies’ internal compass is cellular. To consider this in human terms: the knowledge, dreams, hopes, and prayers of our ancestors reside within us. ... Innovative people have a brightness in their eyes, an inquisitive way of looking at the world, a desire to create things, even if those things are not tangible. But that spark doesn’t reside solely in people you may view as artists. It’s in all of us. “Surely something wonderful is sheltered inside you,” writes Elizabeth Gilbert in her book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. “I say this with all confidence, because I happen to believe we are all walking repositories of buried treasure.” Most of the people profiled in these pages had a moment when they made a creative leap, a commitment to make something new. They took a chance. As a whitewater rafting guide, I think of that moment when my boat drops into a rapid—there’s no turning back. You just have to navigate the rapids as best you can. That’s what it’s been like for many inventive people. They’ve pursued their passion, not knowing where it would take them. They made a commitment and stuck to it, day after day, until the song was written or the book complete. ... Ultimately, The Creative Spark stands as a testament to the highest aspirations of human beings, showing how creativity enlivens our souls and enriches our world. And how it resides in each and every one of us, just waiting to break out. —Michael Shapiro Sonoma County, California June 21, 2019