Research Catalog

The art of stillness : adventures in going nowhere

Title
The art of stillness : adventures in going nowhere / Pico Iyer ; photography by Eydis Einarsdóttir.
Author
Iyer, Pico.
Publication
New York : TED Books/Simon & Schuster, [2014]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Book/TextUse in library JFC 15-118Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Additional Authors
Eydís Einarśdóttir
Description
74 pages : color illustrations; 19 cm
Summary
"A follow up to Pico Iyer's essay 'The Joy of Quiet, ' The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug. Why would a man who seems able to go everywhere and do anything--like the international heartthrob and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen--choose to spend years sitting still and going nowhere? What can Nowhere offer that no Anywhere can match? And why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room and getting to know the seasons and landscapes of Nowhere might be the ultimate adventure? In The Art of Stillness, Iyer draws on the lives of well-known wanderer-monks like Cohen--as well as from his own experiences as a travel writer who chooses to spend most of his time in rural Japan--to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. Iyer reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people--even those with no religious commitment--seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. There is even a growing trend toward observing an 'Internet sabbath' every week, turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning and reviving those ancient customs known as family meals and conversation. In this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many have found richness in stillness and what--from Marcel Proust to Blaise Pascal to Phillipe Starck--they've gained there."--Publisher's description.
Subjects
Contents
Going nowhere -- Passage to nowhere -- The charting of stillness -- Alone in the dark -- Stillness where it's needed most -- A secular sabbath -- Coming back home.
Call Number
JFC 15-118
ISBN
  • 1476784728
  • 9781476784724
OCLC
878111608
Author
Iyer, Pico.
Title
The art of stillness : adventures in going nowhere / Pico Iyer ; photography by Eydis Einarsdóttir.
Publisher
New York : TED Books/Simon & Schuster, [2014]
Edition
First TED Books hardcover edition.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Added Author
Eydís Einarśdóttir, photographer.
Research Call Number
JFC 15-118
View in Legacy Catalog