Mari Ruti (1964–2023) was Distinguished Professor of Critical Theory and of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Toronto. A leading interdisciplinary theorist, she wrote many books, including The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (Columbia, 2013) and Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life (Columbia, 2018).Gail M. Newman is the Harold J. Henry Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Williams College. She has published extensively on German Romanticism, modern Austrian literature, and links between literature and psychoanalysis.

In an era dominated by productivity pressures and self-improvement mandates, The Creative Self provides a necessary antidote. This book is essential for anyone seeking an intellectually rigorous yet deeply humanistic perspective on meaningful living in contemporary society.

• PrefaceIntroduction: The Creative Self and Neoliberalism1. Marion Milner’s Poetics of Being, by Mari Ruti2. “Asking for Paradox to Be Respected”: Winnicott’s Creative Self, by Gail M. NewmanConclusionNotesIndex

Mari Ruti (1964–2023) was Distinguished Professor of Critical Theory and of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Toronto. A leading interdisciplinary theorist, she wrote many books, including The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (Columbia, 2013) and Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life (Columbia, 2018).Gail M. Newman is the Harold J. Henry Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Williams College. She has published extensively on German Romanticism, modern Austrian literature, and links between literature and psychoanalysis.

In an era dominated by productivity pressures and self-improvement mandates, The Creative Self provides a necessary antidote. This book is essential for anyone seeking an intellectually rigorous yet deeply humanistic perspective on meaningful living in contemporary society.

• PrefaceIntroduction: The Creative Self and Neoliberalism1. Marion Milner’s Poetics of Being, by Mari Ruti2. “Asking for Paradox to Be Respected”: Winnicott’s Creative Self, by Gail M. NewmanConclusionNotesIndex