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Nov 20, 2007 · Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time.
- (102.6K)
- Hardcover
Nov 15, 2007 · “Born Standing Up” is a tightly focused book, confining its emphasis to the ways in which both his wit and his personal life developed during these formative years. It is illustrated with...
- On Being “In The Zone”
- On Iteration
- On The Joy of The Work
- A Writer’s Envy
- The Answer
First, he describes his state, a mental snapshot taken of his most requisite parts, i.e. that of his mind and his mouth, while in the act of performing itself. He describes his steadfast retention of a nearly out-of-body mindfulness while still in the heat of the moment. This is what many craftsmen and women know as being “in the zone”. There is a ...
Steve also describes the mind’s role in this creative process as one of constant observation, analyses and adjustment. In effect, in the first half of his sentence, he describes the state of his necessary parts. In the latter half, he describes their roles, their purpose. The state is a necessary prerequisite to the latter. Only with a proper state...
Finally, Steve describes in his opening passage an acute lack of enjoyment not merely as symptomatic of his artistic process but essential to it. This seems odd. In his stand-up performances, it seems as if he is having the time of his life on stage and yet here he describes enjoyment as a dangerous temptation which steals focus from a performance....
In fully appreciating Steve’s book on craftsmanship, a couple things also made me overtly envious. First, as the passage above hopefully illustrates, Steve is a damned good writer. It is almost unfair to me that this man who conquered stand-up could also conquer the written word in such a way. Second, the book is beautifully detailed. Having a terr...
And so this brings us to the resolution of this minute mystery. Why did Steve Martin quit stand up at the height of his powers? If you listen to Steve’s own words, it was because he had “nothing left to say”. His stand-up routine and the subsequent movie The Jerk(which drew much of its inspiration from the routine) were the purest forms of what he ...
Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time.
- Paperback
- September 02, 2008
Nov 20, 2007 · The riveting, mega-bestselling, beloved and highly acclaimed memoir of a man, a vocation, and an era named one of the ten best nonfiction titles of the year by Time and Entertainment Weekly. In the...
- illustrated
- Steve Martin
- Simon and Schuster, 2007
The book examines Martin's childhood, and his first jobs at the Southern California theme parks Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. It includes his later stand-up comedy career, which lasted until 1981.
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Sep 2, 2008 · Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. The riveting, mega-bestselling, beloved and highly acclaimed memoir of a man, a vocation, and an era named one of the ten best nonfiction titles of the year by Timeand Entertainment Weekly.
