Customer Reviews

Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

And I mean that in every sense of the word: sacred, lovely, excellent, perceptive and intuitive. Peter Levitt's vivid writing and obvious love of storytelling makes each page shine. As I read the book, I felt lost in the wilderness of my imagination and my heart, with a wise and friendly guide hovering near. The exercises at the end of each chapter are not merely "one time wonders" but techniques I know I'll return to again and again. In his chapter on permission, Levitt writes, "Everything is permitted in the imagination." And so it is with the exercises. Our only limitation being how far we are willing to go. Fingerpainting on the Moon is a great adventure.

I just read Peter Levitt's Fingerpainting on the Moon and feel it should be required reading for this 21st century. It's written not just for artists, but for "all who long to return to their creative source." Levitt's down-to-earth lessons will surprise you, taking you deep within yourself as well as reconnecting you to the expansive world around you. He writes in a direct, honest, but gently engaging way - with stories, suggestions, a few simple words - that lead you into each chapter's amazing journey of self-discovery. This book inspires us to embrace both the ordinary and the extraordinary in our lives, what Levitt calls the "beautiful particulars," with lasting gratitude and delight.

I make a habit of reading one book on the craft of writing at all times, so over the years I have read a good deal on the subject--from Henry Miller to Mary Oliver, I've covered some territory. I love this book. It is full of surprises. I thought I'd heard it all and I am delightfully mistaken.

Smile. Peter Levitt has made a tiny bible of stepping stones-Shunyru Suzuki, Paul Klee, Pablo Neruda, Robert Creeley, etc-to support the emerging writing/artist in traversing the grand void. As climbers require pitons, ropes, maps, and confidence-the essentials for the grand climb to consciousness and alert knowing and writing are here. Climbers ascend a step at a time and Peter Levitt has chiseled steps into sheer ice so readers can evolve and eventually know the fabulous view of Dao at the top of the peek. As long treks require camping and tedious hours spent in tents-so the reader will have exercises and writing challenges that help them pass the time and grasp the inner threads that will guide them. It is a warm personable journey and at times readers may even forget they are ascending and their calves are burning. I'm smiling and grateful and deeper. My copy has my underlines on every page, marginal notes, and advice like "read this writer." I only hope many others like Kobun Chino Otogawa-roshi evolve the skill to hit the Pacific Ocean with creative arrows.

This beautifully written book is packed with the kind of practical knowledge only a true artist and teacher of long standing would know. The creative exercises the author offers at the end of each chapter and the unique stories he relates from his own experiences and those of other well-known writers, artists and spiritual teachers are always on point. It is as if he knows just what I need to help me nourish and develop my own creative and spiritual life.

The first few chapters help us give ourselves permission to work creatively, take risks, and successfully deal with the negative inner-critics-what he calls hungry ghosts-- that can plague us. I love the insight with which this writer combines teachings from a wide range of spiritual traditions with techniques to help our writing and creative process. Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Sufi, he presents the teachings in a way that is intimate, useful and real.

After working with Natalie Goldberg's and Julia Cameron's wonderful books, I was ready to take the next step and deepen my work. This is it. One of the stories he tells is about a Buddhist who was halfway up a cliff and held on to a branch for dear life because she feared she might take a terrible fall. Finally, a wise and loving teacher happened by and convinced her to release her grip. And when she did, she discovered that the whole time she had actually been lying on the ground, and the ground had been supporting her all along. This book helped me to realize I'm ready to leap and it showed me how.

Reading this volume summons an almost meditative state, as the wise teacher encourages the reader, as student, to go deeper within for answers, and most importantly, for questions.
While this book might be an instruction manual for writing deeper material I find it also a soothing voice, affirming the powers of creation and individuality within the wilderness of wires, noise and clutter that engulf much of life in the 21st century.
Especially valued are Peter Levitt's examples from a variety of literary and spiritual traditions.
Caution: studying this book might free your imagination, awaken your life.

Peter Levitt was one of my teachers in graduate school. I'd been waiting for this book for several years, and I was not disappointed. I think this book takes the reader (participant) deep into their own psyches -- it is very meaty and dense -- in that these are not "fluff" exercises and concepts. I will be able to use many of these exercises with my students, as well as with my own creative process. This is a wonderful investment in your creative life.

Peter Levitt's latest book, Fingerpainting on the Moon, is a joy to read! Every word reflects his love of language and gift as a master storyteller. A longtime fan of Peter's poetry, I was delighted to find that his words of wisdom are as applicable to my everyday life as they are to the creators he inspires. Lessons about love of learning and work and play, the freeing of imagination, and the taking of risk are told through stories and exercises gleaned from a lifetime of contemplation and engagement. Perhaps Peter's greatest message for us regards inspiration - don't sit around waiting for it, just get out there and do what you love! Give yourself time and space when you sit down to read this book; you're not going to want to put it down.

Every artist and writer has been blocked at some point--or afraid to go in certain directions, afraid to look too deeply or try something new, or afriad to write about something personal or universal. Writers are always trying to find their unique voice--to unleash the me-ness of their writing and figure out what it is that they have to say to the world.

Fingerpainting on the Moon pinpoints the answers to these questions. Levitt's exercises dig so deeply into the kind of territory that's ripe for writing that they bring up rawness and the kind of memories that you never knew you remembered. He manages to be supportive and healing and gentle along the way.

This is the kind of book every writer needs to read not just once, but once a year.

This book should be required reading for anyone who writes, paints or has any aspirations to create. What a gentle, insightful approach to finding the kind of environment and support in which to work! Mr. Levitt has included great exercises to get up out of your seat and move and think and see things differently, which is what creating is all about.

I especially love the chapter on risk.

This is a truly important book.