ABSTRACT
The late comedian George Carlin, who knew a thing or two about how cartharsis derives from humor and playfulness, admired and recommended Koestler’s book The act of creation. Published in 1964 in two volumes – the second volume was dropped in later printings – The act of creation was widely read in the 1960s and 1970s. Those decades were a time of pronounced cultural transformation, when creative shifts were societal as well as personal. In our present millennium, despite a crying need for creative approaches to nagging problems, The act of creation has fallen out of print. But Koestler’s work on creativity is not forgotten by any means. In a recent list of the most frequently requested out-of-print books, The act of creation stands at #53 on the list, and is regularly in the top 100.
