Out with the Old, in with the New. “Dancing with the Gods” becomes “The Artist’s Journey”

Thank you all who responded to my note about the closing out of our supply of Dancing with the Gods, the British hardcover of my newest book about the inner life of the artist.  Sadly, they have all been purchased.  But the exact same book, given the less metaphoric and more descriptive title of The Artist’s Journey,(click this hyperlink to learn more) will soon be available.  This is my guidebook to the artistic journey for anyone who practices an art form and knows the joys and challenges that such a practice entails.

I am incredibly proud of this book and would love to see it get in the hands of every art student and every art practitioner who feels the pull of the creative life.  My goal is to get it into high school and college classrooms where art forms of any sort are practiced.  I’ll be working on this as the year progresses.

I will write more about this book and publish passages from it in the next few weeks and months.  For now, you can preorder a signed copy from wolfnordog.com or keep your eye out for it when it is released at your local bookstore and on Amazon in November.  It is a good and valuable book, and an essential book for the right people.

13 thoughts on “Out with the Old, in with the New. “Dancing with the Gods” becomes “The Artist’s Journey””

  1. I really look forward to reading this — very slowly, savoring every phrase. Kent Nerburn is definitely one of my favorite writers of all time. My favorite book of his at present is “The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo” — if you haven’t read it, you’re in for an incredibly wonderful story.

  2. I admit Kent, I never wanted the journey of Dan too end…. Voices of your own are needed now more than ever…

    Thank you!

  3. I read it a few months ago and found it contained compelling spiritual truths that I hadn’t been able to articulate myself. A few years ago a friend told me that there are four stages in an artist’s or craftsperson’s journey: apprentice, journeyman, master and storyteller. I’ve been a studio furniture maker since 1975 so your book makes total sense. It is the perfect guide for anyone on this journey at whatever stage they may be at. I hope many people read it – it will reassure travellers that they are not alone!
    Philip
    PS Two artist friends have bought and read a copy following my recommendation.

  4. I’m throwing literary caution to the wind, and I am just going to emote on this incredible book, Dancing with the Gods. I have loved your work ever since I first read Neither Wolf Nor Dog, but this is truly a crowning achievement for those of us who aspire to write (or create any form of art), and have all those nagging self doubts. I feel like I am in conversation with you, and it seems like I can sit here and think about something that is bothering me, and I open your book to the exact page that I need to read. It has been magical, even mystical. Your gems that highlight human behavior are truly amazing as well. Thank you for writing this incredible book. It is the masterpiece of my library.

  5. You made my day, Katy. You are exactly the kind of person I wrote this book for. Would you be willing to post this on Amazon and/or Goodreads? Between a faulty hand off from the British publisher to the American distributor, and the lock-down reality of the pandemic, almost no one knows about it. It needs to reach more people like you. Your words are far more important than mine in helping to make this happen. Thanks again for putting smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart.

  6. Kent, I have had difficulty posting on Amazon but I will try because I think that your work is so important. I would be proud to post on Goodreads. Your words of wisdom are truly profound.

  7. Kent it’s taken me a full two years after reading Neither Wolf Nor Dog to write you a note of thanks. You have a magnificent ability to cast words to the page to impart your unfolding story. And the voice I heard in my head and the one I heard when I listened to you narrate online was the same.
    I heard you before I heard you!! Although I have read other books you have written, Neither Wolf Nor Dog will always be my favorite. I have given copies of the book to friends and shared the story of your journey with Dan and Fatback with my bookclubs. Many, many thanks for your ability to convey the sobering truth intentionally overlooked and buried far too long. Your chronicle is indeed heroic!

  8. Dear Kent,

    American Democracy is Headed for the Worst-Case Scenario – All the Signs Point to Trump Trying to Overthrow American Democracy — and Possibly Succeeding

    https://eand.co/american-democracy-is-headed-for-the-worst-case-scenario-e7678bae22d0

    e military to forcibly remove him from power. Would they go that far? I have my doubts. When things come to that point, militaries and their generals often decide it’s better not to make an enemy of a man who is now a dictator in all but name.
    So. Let me ask you a question that might have once struck as fantastical and foolish, but that you should now take lethally seriously: is there about to be a coup in America?
    Umair
    September 2020

  9. If you mean a coup by Trump and his allies — yes. If you mean a coup by the sane to get rid of Trump — no, we are too docile, too adaptable, and have too much belief in our governmental structure to notice it happening. What is worse to me is that Trump in his massive ignorance doesn’t even understand what he is doing in a political sense. He just thinks this is the way it should be in America. If there is a psychopath in the mix I think it is Mitch McConnell. Trump is just a cruel, infantile, narcissist who wants to punish people who anger him, and that is anyone who disagrees with him on anything.

  10. Himanshu Tiwari

    Dear Kent,

    Great article:
    US Politics Isn’t ‘Polarized’; It’s In Almost Universal Agreement
    https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2020/10/07/us-politics-isnt-polarized-its-in-almost-universal-agreement/

    My favorite line from this article: “The real debate is those two factions together against those who understand that the entire American status quo needs to be flushed down the toilet.”

    Full article below:

    When you look at US politics, it appears as though there are two mainstream political factions that very strongly disagree with one another. “Divided” is a word that comes up a lot. “Polarized” is another.

    It is of course true that a whole lot of emotion flows between these two factions, and most of it is indeed negative. The hot topics of any given news cycle in America will typically involve more than one story pertaining to the vitriolic enmity between them.

    But beneath all the hurled insults and heated debates, these two factions are actually furiously agreeing with one another. They’re agreeing the entire time.

    They agree that the US government should remain the center of a globe-spanning empire; they just angrily quibble over a few of the details of how that empire should be run, like whether or not the Saudi crown prince should have received some small consequence for dismembering a Washington Post reporter with a bone saw.

    They agree that the US should remain the earth’s unipolar hegemon at all cost; they just loudly bicker over some of the specifics in how it should look, like whether there should be the names of Confederate generals on its military bases.

    They agree that there should be a massive US military presence around the world; they just furiously dispute small particulars like whether a few thousand of those troops should remain in Germany or be moved to Poland.

    They agree that there must be endless mass military violence to uphold the US-centralized empire; they just make a big show of debating whether that military violence should be more focused on Syria or Iran.

    They agree that it is necessary to menace the entire planet with nuclear weapons while ramping up aggressions against other nuclear powers; they just rage back and forth about whose finger should be on the button.

    They agree that it is necessary to control the world economy with an iron fist; they just squabble about its features, like how and when to roll out a trade war with China.

    They agree that the environment should continue to be destroyed; they just fight about the minutia, like whether or not there should be some accommodations made for the profit margins of green energy corporations.

    They agree that income and wealth inequality should persist in the US; they just passionately disagree about how it should persist, like whether or not Americans should receive another paltry $1200 stimulus payment this year.

    They agree that plutocracy should continue to rule America; they just spar over the minor features, like whether or not those plutocrats should pay a tiny bit more in taxes.

    They agree that Americans should remain aggressively propagandized; they just argue about whether it should be by Fox News or MSNBC.

    They agree Americans should be closely surveilled and their speech tightly controlled; they just debate the details, like whether or not right-wing pundits are being disproportionately censored on social media.

    On all issues that most severely affect real people on mass scale, these two political factions are in emphatic agreement. They just pour a whole lot of sound and fury into the tiny one percent of the spectrum wherein they have some disagreement.

    They do not allow for any mainstream discussion of if the oligarchic empire should continue to exist; all their issues, arguments and histrionics revolve around how it should exist.

    This is what they are designed to do. They are designed to keep the American populace from clearly seeing what the real debate is, which is why anyone who relies on a worldview which favors either of these mainstream factions will inevitably suffer confusion and misperception. They are perceptual filters designed to hide the only real debate in US politics.

    The real debate in US politics is not between the two mainstream factions which agree with one another on virtually everything that matters to every extent that matters. The real debate is those two factions together against those who understand that the entire American status quo needs to be flushed down the toilet.

    The real political debate in America is between (A) those who understand that the US empire is the single most destructive force on this planet and is corrupt from root to flower, and (B) those who subscribe to mainstream partisan narratives which by design support the US empire.

    If politics were real in America, this would be the debate everyone sees. Not between two murderous septuagenarians yelling over each other about who hates socialism more, but between the side which opposes the oligarchic empire and the side which promotes and protects it.

    But politics isn’t real in America. It’s a show. A two-handed sock puppet show to distract the audience while pickpockets rob them blind.

    If you want to see things clearly, ignore the fake drama of the sock puppet show altogether and focus on advancing the real debate: that the US-centralized oligarchic empire is corrupt beyond redemption and should be completely dismantled.

  11. Himanshu Tiwari

    Dear Kent,

    Very good article by Slavoj Zizek:Biden’s just Trump with a human face, and the two of them share the same enemy

    https://www.rt.com/op-ed/504705-slavoj-zizek-biden-trump/

    Excerpts: “The basic antagonism is the one between the establishment and the Left, and the rightist violent “extremism” is a panicky reaction triggered when the center is threatened. This became clear in the last presidential debate when Trump accused Biden of backing “Medicare for all,” saying “Biden agreed with Sanders”; Biden replied: “I beat Bernie Sanders.” The message of this reply was clear: Biden is Trump with a human face, in spite of their opposition they share the same enemy. This is liberal opportunism at its worst: renounce the Left “extremists” out of the fear of not scaring the center.”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top