{"product_id":"the-point-of-distraction-9780008432362","title":"The Point of Distraction","description":"A memoir by the 2019 Wellcome Prize winner Will Eaves that looks at the creation of eight piano pieces.\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e'A wonderfully sensitive and probing meditation on the writing of words and music' Rolf Hind, composer and pianist\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat lies behind the creation of a piece of music? Does it spring fully formed from a composer's mind, or take shape in the recesses of the brain, revealing itself in stages over time? Is the creative act deliberate or happenstance? An inspired vision or the result of practice?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill Eaves, author and musician, shares his experience of writing eight new piano pieces after many years away from the keyboard. Some of the music is found in old notebooks and teenage enthusiasms, some of it is caught on the wing - a response to the resurgence of the natural world during COVID lockdown. None of it is what he is meant to be doing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut then not all artistic interests are primary or professional interests. Sometimes it's the second-string activities, the diversions, that bring work - and life - into focus.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Point of Distraction\u003c\/em\u003e is a unique account of music-making that embraces Bach, film, jazz, literature, neuroscience and the mystery of will power in its search for meaning. At its heart is a love of skill, an openness to self-doubt, and a belief that we are all more than our declared aims.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill Eaves is a novelist and poet. \u003cem\u003eMurmur \u003c\/em\u003ewon the 2019 Wellcome Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize for fiction. \u003cem\u003eThe Absent Therapist \u003c\/em\u003ewas shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize; \u003cem\u003eThe Inevitable Gift Shop\u003c\/em\u003e was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. He has worked as Arts Editor at the TLS and Associate Professor at the University of Warwick. He is a columnist for the \u003cem\u003eBrixton Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e and co-host with Professor Sophie Scott of \u003cem\u003eThe Neuromantics\u003c\/em\u003e, a podcast on science and literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Tls Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50922879320338,"sku":"9780008432362","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3198cbf2-6cc0-4af8-ab80-eadd8e8bff00.jpg?v=1738943219","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-point-of-distraction-9780008432362","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}