Both the ancient street poet and the New York beat poet knew the artistic life lies somewhere between making art, getting paid, and satisfying the muse. Among the contributors: John Ruskin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louis Armstrong, Vincent Van Gogh, Yang Wanli, Glenn Gould, Frédéric Chopin, Marianne Moore, Vasily Kandinsky, Michelangelo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salman Rushdie, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Richard Wagner.