The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse

A Book for Creators

By: M. Gungor

Narrated by: Michael Gungor

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

"We are all creators. Whether or not we create is not up to us. We are human, and creating is what we do. Every interaction, movement, and decision is creativity at work. We are all artists. We all order creation around us into the world that we want to make."—Michael Gungor

In The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse, Michael Gungor takes an uncompromising - and humorous - look at our creative selves and the world that we have fashioned around us.

Through story and reflection, Gungor shows how our deepest beliefs and assumptions about the universe affect how we order creation. Our art and our humanity are inextricably entwined.

Surveying pop songs and church services, fine art and movies, Gungor shows what these works of creation reveal about us - for better and worse - and offers a powerful argument for why we can do better.

Art is like fruit, and if we want to improve the quality of our creative output, we must tend not only to the fruit, but to the tree, its roots, and the soil that it is planted in. To become free as creators, we must not simply try harder, we must become different. Gungor argues that this kind of change demands both an awareness of one's own cultural conditioning and a healthy degree of faith, doubt, hope and love.

An award-winning, globetrotting musician, Gungor also reveals his personal journey as an artist and creator, a tale of moving from innocence to wisdom, from simplicity to complexity and back again, a tale of leaving home and returning in a new, better, and more creative way.

©2012 Michael Gungor (P)2012 Michael Gungor

Passionate ART

Gungor has created art for artists. This is a masterpiece, making me feel things as an artist that I had forgotten to feel. What is my goal as an artist?Why do I do what I do? Does my art come from the core of my being? This book is raw, sometimes surprising but always honest. Thank you Michael for stirring my soul.

Love it

As an artist and a Christian this book appealed to my soul in so many ways. It is hard in a world with so much noise, to sort out who the artist is and who they are called to be. I really cannot say enough about how great this book was.

Peace giver

I always wanted to read this book since it came out. Now I’m old enough to purchase it myself and so I did. My expectations were high and after listening to it I can happily say that this is one of my favourite books ever. I’m a musician and felt lost with my compositions, as well as my belief. This book and Gungor’s music brought me back hope and put me on trail again. “May your life be a brush in the very hand of God”. Thank you Michael, for everything.

about an artist

loved this book. what an incredible on-site into the world of the artist and how they do what they do

An excellent book on what it is to create.

I loved this book! It is so good! The science. The spirituality. The personal stories. The humor. The deep and sobering topics. Profound. Make you know why you are a creative and why you ought to be who you are to create beautiful things out of a heart full of love and beauty.

Excellent Presentation

What made the experience of listening to The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse the most enjoyable?

I liked how Michael Gungor's personality comes out as he reads. He is an excellent writer and isn't afraid to let his quirkiness come out. He also takes creative liberties in this audiorecording by playing music and recordings from his past. It makes the book come alive in a more gripping way.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse?

One of the most memorable moments was when he talked about his first concert in a stadium. I am a musician so I know what the nervousness feels like. His account of it made the hair stand up on my arms.

What does Michael Gungor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brought his personality into the book and played music in the background, at times.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This really isn't that type of a book.

Any additional comments?

This book is an incredible primer for doing further study as you try to establish yourself in your inherent creative potential. It certainly isn't a tell all end all book. There is SO much more that needs to be discussed. But it is a great start!

Moving, Honest & Well Performed

The author reads his own book with real soul and humour, and the content itself is uplifting and moving. I especially enjoyed the timing and appropriateness of the soundbites and background music in parts. A beautiful listen.

Too Much religon

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

It would be great for Christians and does have some pearls of wisdom, but by the end was just too much "jesus" for this writer...

Good audio book overall but....

The production quality was pretty poor and inconsistent. At times you couldn’t hear the narrator over the background music and he also was too loud or too soft most times. It was hard to make it through this one for that reason. In addition - especially toward the end - you could tell the audio was recorded in different environments or with different production equipment. It almost sounded like multiple people narrating at times. That was frustrating. Good storytelling kept me plugging through till the end so nice job there.