September 21, 2017
Philly native and drummer for The Roots, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, will release a new book about creativity next spring.
The book, titled "Creative Quest," will include Questlove’s insights on his career as a creative professional and advice for readers to live a full, creative life.
In a statement to BuzzFeed, the book’s publisher, Ecco (a branch of HarperCollins), said Questlove dives into the methods helpful in maintaining and growing a creative life.
“He addresses many topics,” Ecco said in the statement. “What it means to be creative, how to find a mentor and serve as an apprentice, the wisdom of maintaining a creative network, coping with critics and foibles of success, and the specific pitfalls of contemporary culture – all in the service of guiding admirers who have followed his career and newcomers not yet acquainted with his story.”
The book will also feature interviews and conversations with other artists, including Bjork, David Byrne, Ava DuVernay and others.
“‘Creative Quest’ is many things – above all, a wise and wide-ranging conversation around the eternal mystery of creativity,” Ecco told BuzzFeed.
The cover of the book features Questlove’s face on a Rube Goldberg-inspired mechanism.
“When it came time to do the cover for this book, what sprung to mind was making a machine about how things spring to mind, and a Rube Goldberg machine was the perfect match,” Questlove said in a statement to BuzzFeed.
“What else is creativity? It’s a brain passing through a million small steps to be able to take one big step.”
Read more about the book and pre-order it on Amazon. "Creative Quest" is set for release April 24, 2018.
