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Sign up todayThe Gift
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Learn moreA modern classic cherished by many of the greatest artists of our time, The Gift is a brilliant, life-changing defense of the value of creative labor.
Drawing on examples from folklore and literature, history and tribal customs, economics and modern copyright law, Lewis Hyde demonstrates how our society—governed by the marketplace—is poorly equipped to determine the worth of artists’ work. He shows us that another way is possible: the alternative economy of the gift, which allows creations and ideas to circulate freely, rather than hoarding them as commodities.
Illuminating and transformative, The Gift is a triumph of originality and insight—an essential audiobook for anyone who has ever given or received a work of art.
Lewis Hyde was born in Boston and studied at the Universities of Minnesota and Iowa. In addition to The Gift, he is the author of This Error Is the Sign of Love, a book of poems; Trickster Makes This World; and Common as Air. He has also published two volumes of translations of Vicente Aleixandre’s poetry and is the editor of On the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg and The Essays of Henry D. Thoreau. A MacArthur Fellow and former director of creative writing at Harvard University, Hyde teaches at Kenyon College, where he is the Richard L. Thomas Professor in Creative Writing.
Stephen Bowlby has worked as a professional voice actor for more than forty years. His experience spans animation, character work, commercials, and narration. He has read numerous audiobooks throughout his career, including titles by Harold Robbins, Stuart M. Kaminsky, John Sculley, William P. McGivern, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
Reviews
“A classic…If you want to write, paint, sing, compose, act, or make films, read The Gift.”
“No one who is invested in any kind of art can read The Gift and remain unchanged.”
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