New Books in Psychoanalysis Mari Ruti and Gail N. Newman, "The Creative Self: Beyond Individualism" (Columbia UP, 2025)
Feb 25, 2026
Gail N. Newman, Harold J. Henry Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Williams College, studies subjectivity and psychoanalytic readings of literature. She discusses how neoliberal pressure crushes creativity and the value of solitude, chosen family, and emptiness. Conversations trace Milner and Winnicott, explore relationality and diagnosis, and consider small acts of resistance to relentless self‑optimization.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Neoliberal Performance Erodes Creative Life
- Neoliberal self-optimization damages psychic life by forcing constant performance, efficiency, and control of the ego.
- Mari Ruti emphasized the loss of worldly transcendence and the toxic demand to always improve and perform.
Relationality Can Slide Into Neoliberal Selfcare
- Relational approaches can be co-opted by neoliberalism when they turn into individualized self-care or 'you're on your own' responsibilities.
- Newman links Winnicott's intermediate area to a non-binary relationality where the between-ness shapes identity rather than full self-revelation.
False Selves Can Support Creative True Selves
- Winnicott's true/false self distinction functions pragmatically: false selves are necessary and can be creative when they emerge from the core self's play.
- Newman stresses that false selves aren't simply inauthentic masks but useful forms of adaptation and creativity.
