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“I do not spark automatically,” a writer noted in The Atlantic in 1912.
April 26, 2025, 10:39 AM ET
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
“I am a battery that needs to be often recharged,” Randolph S. Bourne wrote in The Atlantic in 1912. His language of “recharging” foretold modern-day conversations about what is now called “self-care.” But rather than the gym or a bubble bath, Bourne was talking about communal activities: “I require the excitement of friendship; I must have the constant stimulation of friends,” he writes. “I do not spark automatically, but must have other minds to rub up against, and strike from them by friction the spark that wilt kindle my thoughts.”
None of us spark automatically. We each need a different set of circumstances to encourage inspiration, but the flow of fresh ideas takes work. Today’s newsletter explores where inspiration comes from, and where to find it when you’re running out of places to look.
On Inspiration
The Excitement of Friendship
By Randolph S. Bourne
“I really live only when I am with my friends.”
How to Be More Creative
By Adam Alter
Breakthroughs are the product of persistence, not magic.
The Rick Rubin Guide to Creativity
By James Parker
Can the legendary record producer’s book really make you into an artist?
Still Curious?
- The Tchaikovsky cure for worry: If you have anxiety, or simply want a greater sense of well-being, getting creative is just about the best thing you can do, Arthur C. Brooks wrote last year.
- Why writers should look back for inspiration: In 2015, English folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling revealed how an appreciation for humanity's history has informed her art.
Other Diversions
P.S.
Courtesy of Pam Y.I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. “I spotted these children on our subway, excitedly peering out the train window, even though there was nothing to see,” Pam Y., 67, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, writes. “They reminded me to see every new experience as an adventure, and to look for wonder even in dark times.”
I’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks.
— Isabel
About the Author
Isabel Fattal is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where she oversees newsletters.
English (US) ·