Picturing and Poeting

There are so many "creative inspiration" books out there, that I sometimes wonder if they don't perhaps stifle the creative process to an extent. How can looking at a book that a million other people own encourage you to have an original thought? In fact, is there even such a thing as an original thought? (I'm sure I'm not the first person to wonder that!) Even so, if you are looking to buy a book to inspire you, I find Alan Fletcher's books the best. Everybody by now is probably familiar with The Art of Looking Sideways, which surely must be his best selling book, but I also find the more recent Picturing and Poeting to be a good resource.


As it says on the cover "This book turns words into pictures, finds poetry in rubbish, and discovers the unlikely in the commonplace. Alan Fletcher stands ideas on their heads to present a kaleidoscope of sketches, images, doodles, and many other twists and turns from his unpredictable imagination." This book is largely compiled from Alan Fletcher's travel diaries. It contains sketches of friends, witty anecdotes and thought provoking quotes about, well, just about everything.