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The Art Assignment

Make a book with meat (or other atypical materials).

Artist and designer Ben Denzer shares an assignment to make an ATYPICAL BOOK. He’s made books from meat, toilet paper, ketchup packets, and lottery tickets, among much else. Your challenge: 1) Make a book that is atypical in terms of its form or material + 2) Share it on Instagram or Twitter with #youareanartist.

S6 E32 - 5m 28s

The Definition of Art

S6 E31 - 13m 4s

What is art? How do we define art? In this episode, we explore some of the many ways that artists and writers and thinkers have defined and understood this thing we call art.

Art That Was Never Finished

S6 E29 - 9m 32s

Artists have abandoned artworks for many reasons throughout history. Guest host John Green shares some of his favorite unfinished artworks and explains why they resonate with him so deeply. Featuring work by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Edgar Degas, Alice Neel, Kerry James Marshall, and very many presidential portraits.

Make a Cut-Out with Cécile McLorin Salvant

S6 E28 - 6m 50s

Cécile McLorin Salvant is a visual artist and Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, and she shares with us an art assignment on creating your own Theme and Variation Cut-Out.

Art Made in Adversity

S6 E27 - 6m 14s

Artist and educator Allison Smith shares her thoughts and library of books about art made in adverse circumstances. Featured are Vladimir Arkhipov's project Home-Made, archiving Russian artifacts made during Perestroika, and Trench Art, or art and objects made during armed conflict, highlighting works from Trench Art: An Illustrated History by Jane A Kimball.

Art That Brings Me Comfort

S6 E26 - 11m 38s

What art that brings you comfort right now? What art do you want to be thinking about? In this episode, we make a book of art by Alec Soth, Miyoko Ito, Giorgio Morandi, Vija Celmins, Sam Gilliam, Sheila Hicks, and Wayne Thiebaud.

Creativity is Overrated

S6 E25 - 9m 55s

You don't need to be creative or inspired to make art, but you may need the advice of artists, and perhaps a prompt!

What This Painting Tells Us About Frida Kahlo

S6 E24 - 9m 26s

The artist Frida Kahlo is a larger-than-life icon, known for the masterful self-portraits she made during her turbulent life (1907 - 1954). We take a close look at her painting The Two Fridas (Las Dos Fridas), and consider what it tells us (and doesn't) about her as a person and her wider body of work.

What Makes a Masterpiece?

S6 E23 - 12m 35s

What do we mean when we call an artwork a MASTERPIECE? Who decides which art becomes one? And what artists make them?

The Case for Video Games

S6 E22 - 12m 45s

Video Games are fun, but are they art? Heck yes. We explore the history and present of video games and what sets them apart as a means of artistic expression.

Having a Coke with Frank O'Hara

S6 E17 - 15m 29s

Frank O'Hara is best known for his poetry, but in this Art Cooking we explore his life as a poet as well as an art curator at MoMA.

Art Therapize Yourself

S6 E21 - 12m 1s

What is Art Therapy? How can you use aspects of it in your next art encounter? We explore these questions at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art with art therapist Lauren Daugherty.

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The Art Assignment

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Wicked Arts Assignments: Practising Creativity in Contemporary Arts Education Paperback – February 2, 2021

Fun, poetical and inspiring challenges for teaching the arts―for students of all ages and teachers of all disciplines

The almost 100 arts assignments compiled in this instructive new volume are designed to foster cross-disciplinary creativity in the visual arts, performance, theater, music and design. Everyone who teaches the arts knows the value of the assignment that is seemingly simple but which nonetheless challenges participants, students and pupils to the maximum. In Wicked Arts Assignments the tasks are organized around the following themes: Go Public, Narrate, Remix, Explore Nature, Engage, Soul Search, Make Some Noise, Localize, Build & Move, Keep in Time and Hack. The assignments can be carried out in various contexts, from primary schools to higher education, from home to online. They are intended to spark the imagination of both teachers and students, contributing to new, topical educational and artistic practices. The book is complemented by a theoretical framework and interviews with experts in contemporary arts and education.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Valiz
• Publication date February 2, 2021
• Dimensions 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.6 inches
• ISBN-10 9492095750
• ISBN-13 978-9492095756
• See all details

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From the Publisher

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Valiz (February 2, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9492095750
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9492095756
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.6 inches
• #151 in Arts & Photography Study & Teaching
• #277 in Arts & Photography Criticism

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100 Sketchbook Prompts Your Students Will Love

If you’re anything like me, you can never get enough good sketchbook ideas. I’m always looking for ways to engage students so that they truly  want  to work in their sketchbooks. Whether you use sketchbooks for project planning, skill development, brainstorming, or something else, you’ll find ideas here that will work for you. My sketchbook assignments and prompts take an “all of the above” approach, making the following list well-rounded.

Want an eBook with all these prompts? Click 100 Sketchbook Prompts eBook to find it!  

The list covers many bases and is organized by category. There are prompts about animals, food, people, and other things that will spark interest among students. This list is geared toward secondary students, but you’ll find a lot here that will work for younger students as well. Take a look and see what will work best for you and your students. Add your own favorite sketchbook assignment in the comments below!

Click here  to download the list!

These prompts are an amazing place to start. However, knowing how to implement the prompts and manage students with sketchbooks is important, too! If you’d like ideas to help your students develop their creativity, drawings skills, and information retention, be sure to check out the following two PRO Packs, which can be found in our PRO Learning .

• Sketchbook Ideas that Really Work  
• Implementing Sketchnotes in the Art Room

100 Sketchbook Prompts Your Students Will Love

• Draw someone you sit by in an odd pose.
• Draw family members with things that are important to them.
• Draw yourself (or someone else) painting toenails.
• Find a quiet place in a crowd. Draw the crowd.
• Draw a relative by the light cast from a TV/Phone/Computer or other screen.
• Make a portrait of yourself in twenty years. Or in fifty years. Or both.
• Draw a masked man (or woman) that is not a superhero.
• Draw the ugliest baby you can imagine.
• Draw two sports figures–one in a dynamic pose, one in a static pose.
• Draw two self-portraits with odd expressions.
• Draw something or someone you love.
• Draw hair. A lot of it.
• Take a picture of someone near you on a bus or in a car. Draw them.
• Draw an animal eating another animal.
• Draw your art teacher in a fight with an animal.
• Draw an animal playing a musical instrument.
• There is an animal living in one of your appliances. Draw it.
• Draw a dead bird in a beautiful landscape.
• Draw something from a pet’s point of view.
• Draw an animal taking a bath.
• Draw an animal taking a human for a walk.
• Combine 3 existing animals to create a completely new creature.
• Draw a family portrait. Plot twist: It is a family of insects or animals.
• Draw the most terrifying animal you can imagine. Or the most adorable.
• Draw a pile of dishes before they get washed.
• Tighten a C-Clamp on a banana. Draw it.
• Draw a slice of the best pizza you have ever seen.
• Draw junk food and the wrapper.
• Draw your favorite food.
• Create your own restaurant. Draw the restaurant, your executive chef, and a 12-item menu.
• Draw the ingredients or process of your favorite recipe.
• Draw salt and pepper shakers.
• Draw fresh fruit or vegetables, or something fresh from the oven.
• Draw a salad.
• Draw the oldest thing in your refrigerator.
• Draw a piece of fruit every day until it becomes rotten.
• Draw everything on a restaurant table.
• Draw what is in the rearview mirror of the car.
• Draw moving water. Draw still water.
• Draw an object floating.
• Make a drawing of all of your drawing materials.
• Find a trash can. Draw its contents.
• Draw tools that belong to a certain profession.
• Draw three objects and their environments. One of the three should be in motion.
• Draw the interior of a mechanical object. Zoom in, focus on details and shading.
• Create three drawings of messes you have made.
• Draw five objects with interesting textures: wood grain, floors, tiles, walls, fabric, etc.
• Draw a collection of purses, wallets, or bags.
• Draw your favorite well-loved object or childhood toy.
• Draw a watch or another piece of jewelry.
• Draw something hideous that you keep for sentimental reasons.
• Draw something with a mirror image.

Technical Skill/Skill Development

• Draw all the contents of your junk drawer with one continuous line.
• Make a detailed drawing of a rock.
• Draw a dark object in a light environment.
• Draw a light object in a dark environment.
• Make a detailed drawing of five square inches of grass.
• Draw a transparent object.
• Draw a translucent object.
• Do several studies of eyes, noses, and mouths in a variety of poses.
• Draw an interesting object from three different angles.
• Value Studies–Draw three eggs and part of the carton with a strong light source.
• Draw three metallic objects that reflect light. Focus on highlights and reflections.
• Refraction–Create two drawings of separate objects partially submerged in water.
• Make three drawings (your choice of subject) using materials with which you are not familiar.
• Draw a piece of patterned fabric with folds.
• Draw a bridge and all of its details.

Creativity/Originality

• Draw yourself as an original superhero.
• Make a drawing that looks sticky.
• Draw a mysterious doorway or staircase.
• Draw an empty room. Make it interesting.
• Draw a flower. Make it dangerous.
• Draw an object melting.
• Draw an imaginary place, adding all kinds of details.
• Draw a gumball machine that dispenses anything but gumballs.
• Danger! Draw yourself in a dangerous situation.
• You are on the back of the bus. Figure out who is with you, where you are going, and why. Illustrate and explain.
• Draw what’s under your bed (real or imagined).
• Draw the most incredible game of hide-and-seek you can imagine.
• Create a new sport. You can improve an existing sport, combine two existing sports, or come up with something completely new.

Open-Ended Themes

• Make a drawing that is totally truthful.
• Make a drawing that lies all over the place.
• Make a drawing that is completely and utterly impossible.
• Story Illustration: Fix a story that you don’t like, or reflect/improve upon one you do.
• Let someone else choose your subject and tell you what to draw.
• Draw your greatest fear.
• Use song lyrics, quotes, or poetry to inspire a drawing.
• Find the three most useless objects you can and draw them.
• Draw an interesting form of transportation.
• Draw something for which you are thankful.
• Go somewhere new and draw what you see.
• Draw something that can’t be turned off.
• Draw something soothing.
• Draw something you think sounds or smells incredible.
• Draw something that needs fixing.
• Draw something you’ve always wanted.
• Draw something out of place.
• Draw something that should have been invented by now.
• Draw something you keep putting off, or something that causes you to procrastinate.

Does this list inspire you to take some sketchbook assignments head on in your art room? Or maybe the opposite is true and you are finding that you feel underprepared to teach drawing skills. Maybe you fall somewhere in between and you just need a little more inspiration to tweak your drawing curriculum. These are all great reasons to take a peek at our course, Studio: Drawing . The class is jam-packed with hands-on learning experiences, advanced technique tutorials, and opportunities to share and learn with art teachers just like you.

What are your favorite sketchbook prompts to use? How do you use sketchbooks in your classroom?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

Timothy Bogatz

Tim Bogatz is AOEU’s Content & PD Event Manager and a former AOEU Writer and high school art educator. He focuses on creativity development, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking skills in the art room.

Level Up the Fun! 11 Awesome Art Games to End the Year

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Go Big Before Going Home: Finish the Year with a Collaborative Paper Mache Sculpture

5 Art Activities to Unwind After Testing and Portfolio Submissions 

The Art Assignment

"The Art Assignment" is a weekly PBS Digital Studios production hosted by curator Sarah Green. We take you around the U.S. to meet working artists and solicit assignments from them that we can all complete.

Watch this show and many more anytime, anywhere on the free PBS App.

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This latest installment of the Corita 101 workshop series, produced in collaboration with Los Angeles-based artist, educator, and researcher Álvaro D. Márquez , the Accordion Book draws inspiration from Corita's pedagogy. These worksheets will guide you through a project that will teach you about the expressive potential of line and color. In this project, you will learn to make an abstract drawing and turn it into an accordion book while exploring the ways that color and line can communicate feelings and emotional states.

Add to your cart to download to enjoy immediately for free!

What to Read to Understand How People Get Tricked

Each of these titles will stick with you and, perhaps, make you more likely to realize when you’re not seeing the truth.

Our brains are wired to be deceived. I’m married to a professional magician, so I’m intimately familiar with the kinds of techniques that can fool the eye and trick the senses. But the human mind’s vulnerability to misdirection is more universal than that. Neurologists and psychologists have found that our predilection for trusting others—a trait that has helped us survive as a species—is a major reason con artists thrive. This trait also makes dissimulation fascinating and appealing, especially in literature. Readers love the stories of swindlers and their gullible targets, of grifters themselves being tricked, and every iteration in between. They thrill us by upending the expected and making us question our assumptions.

The six books below all delve into deception. Some tell tales of elaborate confidence schemes; others interrogate why people are frequently defenseless against cons that, from the outside, seem obvious. Several books also dig into how we’re liable to deceive ourselves, often to our detriment. Each is a fascinating read that will stick with you and, perhaps, make you a bit more likely to realize when you’re not seeing the truth.

The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History , by Margalit Fox

Outside of magic, there are few examples of someone undergoing a con for non-nefarious reasons. The true story that Fox recounts in The Confidence Men , however, is one of them. In World War I, two prisoners of war held in a camp in Turkey convinced their captors—and some of their fellow prisoners—that they could use a Ouija board to talk with spirits. Those spirits just happened to know where a lost treasure was buried, and the two men developed an arduous plan that cajoled their jailers into letting them leave the camp to find it. The escape was far from straightforward—as Fox describes, the two had to “feign mental illness, stage a double suicide attempt that came perilously close to turning real, and endure six months in a Turkish insane asylum, an ordeal that drove them to the edge of actual madness.” But the confidence game ultimately led to their freedom, and Fox combines the machinations of their escape with a present-day understanding not only of how people are predisposed to getting duped, but also of how they often refuse to change their beliefs, even when it’s clear that those beliefs are provably false.

Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear , by Jim Steinmeyer

Early on in Hiding the Elephant , Steinmeyer states that “magicians guard an empty safe.” The methods that prestidigitators use to fool their audiences are not secrets kept in a locked box, available to only the initiated. Indeed, these days, anyone can suss out with a simple Google search how tricks are done. But the tricks aren’t what makes magic endure. According to Steinmeyer, great magicians create a “temporary fantasy” where, “with a gesture, a suggestion, a feint or contrivance, the audience is convinced that they are watching a genuine wonder.” Based on this premise, Steinmeyer—who has designed illusions for performers such as Doug Henning, Ricky Jay, and Siegfried & Roy—reveals the methods behind how magicians throughout history accomplished certain acts. (The title, for example, references the legendary escape artist Harry Houdini, who famously made an elephant disappear in 1918.) But arguably more fascinating than the methods Steinmeyer reveals are his profiles of magicians. He makes a strong case that Houdini, formerly known as Erik Weisz, was in fact a “terrible magician,” and vividly describes the personalities from the late 19th and early 20th centuries who were behind some of magic’s greatest innovations. It’s a dynamic, entertaining read, painting a rich history of magic’s golden age while delving into what drove these artists, and why audiences loved them for it.

Read: Quit lying to yourself

Fingersmith , by Sarah Waters

Fingersmith is a Victorian tale where what the reader knows and what is actually going on are two distinct things. We start with the point of view of Sue, an orphaned woman brought up in the Oliver Twist –like abode of Mrs. Sucksby and Mr. Ibbs, who farm infants—taking care of them with spoonfuls of gin before selling them off—and fence stolen goods for various thieves in London. Sue is brought into a con by Gentleman, a known huckster who plans to wed a woman named Maud, put her in an insane asylum, and then claim her inheritance. Gentleman needs Sue to serve as Maud’s maid to complete the scheme, and so Sue goes off to the remote rural estate where Maud lives. Things there are far from what they seem, however. Sue’s narration makes that clear early on: Recalling a seemingly innocuous afternoon with Maud and Gentleman, she thinks, “When I try now to sort out who knew what and who knew nothing, who knew everything and who was a fraud, I have to stop and give it up, it makes my head spin.” The plan becomes complicated when Sue and Maud fall in love—and, as promised, the story takes more than one unexpected turn from there.

Nightmare Alley , by William Lindsay Gresham

“Misdirection is the whole works, honey. You don’t need no fancy production boxes and trap doors and trick tables,” the mentalist Zeena says early in Nightmare Alley . With that essential skill in place, she explains, “everybody will sit back and gasp” at the most obvious tricks. Zeena works in a carnival, convincing her patrons she can read their minds. When Pete, her alcoholic husband, dies, Zeena’s fellow carny Stan Carlisle cajoles her to teach him the verbal code she used with Pete to pull off the act. Stan, already adept at card tricks and sleight of hand, quickly puts this knowledge to work. The book follows him as he leaves the circus with his young love and mentalist partner, Molly. Always looking for more lucrative scores, Stan embroils them both in more and more harmful deceits—some he commits himself, others done to him. Gresham’s 1946 novel is an unnerving, grim, unflinching look at human nature: It exposes both how we are all susceptible to manipulation and how some of us have the ruthlessness and cunning to take advantage of that weakness.

Read: George Washington was a master of deception

Yellowface , by R. F. Kuang

Deception isn’t always a conscious endeavor, and it often isn’t done well. Take the novel Yellowface , where the struggling author June Hayward steals a manuscript from her friend, the vaunted Asian American writer Athena Liu, after Liu chokes to death on some late-night pancakes. June is white, but—after adopting the pen name Juniper Song and using an author photo that’s “sort of racially ambiguous”—passes Athena’s book about World War I’s Chinese Labor Corps off as her own (after adding some flourishes, such as some more sympathetic Caucasian characters). June deludes herself about her plagiarism: “I know you won’t believe me, but there was never a moment when I thought to myself, I’m going to take this and make it mine . It’s not like I sat down and hatched up some evil plan to profit off my dead friend’s work. No, seriously—it felt natural , like this was my calling, like it was divinely ordained.” Her self-deception is the foundational falsehood in the maelstrom of lies and misdeeds that spews forth over more than 300 pages. June flails through the stolen book’s initial success, slinging out offense and racism (she leaves Athena’s wake, for example, because she “can only take so much pungent Chinese food and old people who can’t or won’t speak English”) as she tries to maintain the fraud. Of course, everything spirals out of control, and she and other characters each fight to control the narrative—and come out intact at the end.

The Confidence Game , by Maria Konnikova

“The true con artist doesn’t force us to do anything; he makes us complicit in our own undoing,” Konnikova writes in The Confidence Game . “He doesn’t steal. We give. He doesn’t have to threaten us. We supply the story ourselves. We believe because we want to, not because anyone made us.” Her nonfiction book delves into the psychological underpinnings that make people so vulnerable to cons. Each chapter takes the reader step-by-step through a confidence scheme, covering what makes someone likely to become a grifter of this type, how they identify their marks, what methods they use to ultimately fleece targets (and why those methods work), and, in most cases, how shame keeps victims from telling others they were scammed. Konnikova delves into scientific studies that show why methods adopted by scammers are so effective, and peppers those findings with examples of con artists whose skills exploit these human foibles and the marks who fall for them. The Confidence Game is a thorough, insightful inspection into why these scams exist—and why they’ll always be around, in one form or another.

Read: Can you spot a liar?

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The Art of Lies of P Revealed by Dark Horse Comics

Explore the making of the hit 2023 soulslike game..

Lies of P is one of the more memorable Soulslike games in recent years, as well as a fascinating take on the classic novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. In other words, it's a perfect choice as the latest entry in Dark Horse's ever-growing lineup of video game-themed art books.

IGN can exclusively reveal the cover art and first details for The Art of Lies of P. Check out the cover below:

The Art of Lies of P is a hardcover book that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the game, featuring 224 pages of concept art and creator commentary from the employees at ROUND8 Studios.

“When we decided to make an art book for Lies of P, we knew we wanted to create something that served as a thank you to our fans while giving a behind-the-scenes peek at the development process for the game,” said Jiwon Choi, Director of Lies of P, in a statement. “The team at Dark Horse Books took our vision for 'The Art of Lies of P' and is crafting something that is truly vibrant and speaks to the love and effort from the team at ROUND8 Studios. We hope it brings joy to our Lies of P community!"

The Art of Lies of P is priced at $49.99 and will be released in bookstores on November 12 and comic shops on November 13.

Dark Horse also recently unveiled The Making of Halo The Series: Hope, Heroism, Humanity , which explores the making of the first season of the Showtime/Paramount+ series.

In IGN's Lies of P review , Travis Northup scored the game an 8 out of 10, writing, "Lies of P might not branch out particularly far from its soulslike inspiration, but like a marionette controlled by a skilled puppet master, it plays the part extremely well in a wonderfully dark fantasy world. It must be said that its uneven difficulty didn’t always make me feel like an underdog, especially when playing as a brawny, overpowered version of Pinocchio with a massive weapon, and combat pigeonholed me into a specific playstyle while the levels are less open and twisting than most. But with an awesome weapon crafting system, some really memorable boss fights, and one of the better stories we’ve seen in this genre, I can enthusiastically recommend you spend your time hanging out with Gepetto and friends. If you’ve been waiting for a Bloodborne remaster or sequel that may never come, Lies of P is the next best thing."

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter .

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Watch: The Art of Reading: Megan Nolan talks to Colm Tóibín

The Art of Reading is a monthly book club hosted by Colm Tóibín, the Laureate for Irish Fiction.

Each month, the Laureate meets a different library book club to discuss a book by an Irish writer, highlighting outstanding Irish writing and celebrating the reader and book clubs.

The selected titles celebrate new work by contemporary Irish writers and the latest episode features Colm in conversation with Megan Nolan about her novel, Ordinary Human Failings - watch above.

Megan Nolan’s novel tells the story of the Green family who move from Ireland to London in the early 1990s. ‘Where Nolan really excels is in the delineation of complex, sometimes contradictory interior states, the water we all swim in and call "reality",' writes The Financial Times.

Megan Nolan was born in 1990 in Waterford, Ireland and is currently based in London. Her essays and reviews have been published by The New York Times, White Review, The Guardian and Frieze amongst others. Her debut novel, Acts of Desperatio n, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2021 and was the recipient of a Betty Trask Award, shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her second novel, Ordinary Human Failings , was published in 2023 and is shortlisted for the inaugural Nero Book Awards for fiction and longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize.

The Art of Reading Book Club is an initiative of the Arts Council and the Laureate for Irish Fiction, in partnership with Libraries Ireland. Find out more here.

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The Sydney Morning Herald

Sheila heti gets playful and philosophical in her scrambled diaries, by jane gleeson-white, save articles for later.

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MEMOIR Alphabetical Diaries Sheila Heti, Allen & Unwin, $24.99

Sheila Heti’s new book Alphabetical Diaries is as its name suggests: a book composed of sentences taken from her diaries, arranged alphabetically and assembled in 26 chapters from A to Z. The result is a compelling work that feels both formally brand new, and therefore disorienting, and uncannily familiar in its evocations of life.

Defined as an “essay”, like all of Heti’s books, Alphabetical Diaries eludes categorisation and continues her ongoing investigations into her own life and art, which she conducts with an almost scientific rigour. As she writes: “That’s all I want to know, what the human laws are.”

The author of 11 books – including the acclaimed works of fiction, How Should a Person Be? (2010), Motherhood (2018) and Pure Colour (2022) – Heti pushes literature into places that resist language to capture the texture of lived experience. She is always experimenting. After How Should a Person Be? was published, she decided to examine the diaries she’d kept while writing it. She wanted to distinguish her life from her art: to learn what her life was actually like during those years when she was writing the novel based on it – a novel narrated mostly in the first-person singular by a protagonist called Sheila. This urge is neatly captured in a diary fragment: “No one at this point in history knows how to live, so we read biographies and memoirs, hoping to get some clues.”

To allow herself to scan her diaries quickly, Heti put them in a spreadsheet, sorted the sentences alphabetically, then spent a decade editing them. The result is a volume of 163 densely packed pages of sentences with no paragraph breaks that scroll through the alphabet, capturing moments of life with revelatory frankness and immediacy.

It opens: “A book about how difficult it is to change, why we don’t want to, and what is going on in our brain. A book can be about more than one thing, like a kaleidoscope, it can have many things that coalesce into one thing, different strands of a story, the attempt to do several, many, more than one thing at a time, since a book is kept together in its binding. A book is like a shopping mart, all the selections.”

Heti’s diaries capture moments of life with revelatory frankness and immediacy.

How to read such a book? At the end of the first page this sentence suggested a way: “A different way of living now, according to my feelings and values, rather than according to stories and symbols.”

So, perhaps this is a book that offers life in terms of feelings and values? But no, of course not, because this is composed from life and contains all the fleetingness of the author’s thinking, its repetitions, obsessions, contradictions, recurring people, things and places: “My main wish for life right now is not to think about men all the time, but to ever more think about men less and less, and to look around at the world, and at my books, and at the books I want to write and the work I want to do, and get over my neuroses about everything and stop smoking and feel my own will, which is my soul, and to have some control over how I react, and to be in the world in a more thoughtful way, and to come out of childhood and be a woman at last. My middle finger is still hurting from when I slammed it in the door.”

Some sentences read like koans: “Discipline is like discipleship”; “Hanif talked about the unconscious – how even if it doesn’t exist, now it in fact does.” And some sentences are unfinished provocations: “This is why everything burns up.” Stories and “characters” arise from Heti’s thoughts about her friends and lovers, her records of their conversations and daily interactions.

As well as the energy and beauty of individual sentences, their juxtapositions are ingenious, truthful and often very funny: “I loathe my sexual attraction to men. I long for him and love him and pine for him, even when we’re in the same room together. I looked at her on the internet, and she’s not what I thought she’d look like, in fact she kind of looks like me, and I wonder whether they have sex in the same way we did. I love embroilments.”

Reading Alphabetical Diaries is like an intimate encounter with the soul of an insatiably curious, brilliant, contradictory, effervescent writer intensely engaged with words, ideas, art and life. Heti’s astute powers of observation and ability to translate life into words – and her exacting collating and editing – have created a serendipitous order and meaning from randomness, while also eliciting the reader’s urge to join dots, see patterns, and make meaning.

It is fascinating what emerges from this homage to the potency and capaciousness of the sentence. Alphabetical Diaries is a work of great humour, brilliance and beauty. I was entranced.

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