Qualitative Family Research

A Newsletter of the Qualitative Family Research Network National Council on Family Relations Volume 7, Numbers 1 & 2 November 1993

Remembering Anselm By Juliet Corbin San Jose State University, San Jose, CA What made Anselm so productive and creative at time in life when most persons are

thinking about retiring? This is a question that I've always pondered and have had a lot of time to think about since his death. I worked closely with Anselm for 15 years and even after that length of time I was astonished at how fresh some his ideas were and how he was always thinking about new projects. Though I was considerably younger, I found it hard to keep up with him. He could

write faster than anyone I knew and when he was hot with ideas there was no stopping him. It's not that he was a machine. There were times when he was overcome with fatigue or when his illness slowed him down. Then, he would just take it easy and read, talk, or listen to music. In exploring his creativity, I must talk about myself because my thoughts about him are so wrapped up in our work together. I hope that readers will forgive me for intruding into what is really a story about Anselm. Anselm at Work Our work times consisted of sitting in cafes drinking latte or cappuchino and eating

cookies. Anselm would be stimulated by ideas. The ideas may have come from something he read, a conversation that he had with a colleague, an insight that I had, or an observation that I made in one of my clinical settings. We would bounce the ideas back and forth, one of us jotting down the "priceless pearls" later to be put into memos. Since his mind was always working, once stimulated by an idea he could expand

upon it drawing upon his vast stores of knowledge and experience. Anselm needed that

stimulation from others, but once he got going, he could literally spin gold out of straw. Working Conditions: Golden Gate Park and Music When we had enough coffee, we would leave the cafe and head for Golden Gate Park

or the Marina, where we would walk, if the weather was nice. If not, we sat in the car, with a background of Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart and occasionally Chopin. And we worked, because Anselm never wasted a minute. Time was too precious, at least during the years that I knew him. The sun, the view, provided an aesthetic backdrop for his continued immersion and

fascination with ideas. Eventually he would tire, and no matter what I would say the conversation went nowhere. When his thinking slowed down, we would drop by one of the museums to enjoy the serenity but also to renew. The creativity of others brought out the creativity in Anselm. I think this was because of his ability to think comparatively, something that was part of his daily life not only his research. Comparative Thinking Including the Arts Analyzing a piece of art in terms of its properties and dimensions would inspire new

ways of thinking about his own work. Let me give an example. While working on our book on body, we would visit the museums, especially the Asian Art museum with its lovely wooden Buddha, to examine how the body had been portrayed across time and across cultures. Thinking comparatively in that way, helped us to bring out the salient properties of body today and in our culture enriching our book (yet to be published). Watching a Sculptor at Work Along this same line, one of my favorite activities with Anselm, and one we didn't do

often enough from my perspective, was to visit his friend, the sculptor, at his studio to watch him work. This too would refresh Anselm and give him new creative insights. But what I liked best were the times when the two men talked about the creative process. Though their medium was different, what came out was that inspiration can be found anywhere anytime, one just has to be alert and sensitive to it. And Anselm embraced life,

which made him ready to receive and then to give back. Love of the Arts Anselm loved literature, music, and art. They were integral to his life. But he was

also open to all kinds of experiences, which he then stored in his mind like a bank, then drew upon when thinking comparatively about data. A very special memory for me pertains to Anselm taking the train from San Francisco down the Peninsula to visit me. Even today, as I go about my chores in town, I can't help but become nostalgic when I hear the train whistle blowing. Anselm came south to get away from the fog in the summer, to give me a break from driving in the City, but mostly because he wanted to experience suburbia, notably Silicon Valley and family life. I used to meet him at the train station, where he would be waiting patiently (for I

was usually late) with his little black beret, tan jacket, and his black book bag. He always had that little piece of paper in his hand and was working. His home life was quiet compared to mine, with its teenage children and animals running in and out. Immersion in the Lives of Others He wanted to talk with my daughter and her friends about school life, drugs, their

boyfriends, unsafe and safe sex, and all the other issues that were of concern to them. He wanted to hear their perspectives on life and how they perceived the pressing issues of the time. He also relished in sitting in the outdoor cafes soaking up the sun, comparing the people, ambiance, culture with that of the City. His intense curiosity fed into his storehouse of ideas, which he then drew upon in his writing. Creativity I believe that what I learned about creativity from Anselm is that a person has to

take in before s/he can give back, that is, one must be open to all facets of life for it provides the storehouse of ideas and experience to draw from. Everything in life is data. But even more important, it is the ability to think comparatively that enables a person to view experience and ideas from a fresh perspective and to use them to mold new forms of

thinking. Anselm was an artist as much as those he so admired. It's just that he constructed

beautiful books and papers instead of sculpture or music. I miss my adventures with Anselm, because working with him was an adventure. However, I console myself with the lessons that he taught all of us. Whenever I am lonely, I pick up one of his books. I see his active mind working on every page and I feel renewed.