Create Rebellion Chapter 1 Review

Robbie describes his book on the cover as “An abstract manifesto for disruptive creativity”.

Translation: I am a brilliant guru whose word vomit will change your life and I will not be confined to pedestrian ideas such as paragraphs. I have mined the shit out of thesaurus.com. Adjectives are my bitches. You’re welcome.”

I purchased my copy from a used book seller on eBay for $5. I was pleased to contribute to the economy but not directly to Robbie’s horrendous sneaker collection.

It’s not only flimsy for a book but it’s only 5x7 in size. I knew it was under 100 pages, but it actually has 45 double-spaced, 14-point font pages plus a full-page black-and-white (moody serious) author picture, an afterword and 4 1/2 blank pages (???) at the end. (Maybe Izzard Ink Publishing has a page minimum, idk.)

My copy has what looks like burn marks across it. It occurred to me that someone somewhere was going to use it in a ritual. Or was angry about their purchase.

I read it in about 30 minutes and that included re-reading most passages (there are no paragraphs). The re-reading was necessary for me because the sentences tend to be over-the-top, weighted with descriptors and declarations. There is no build-up. If you’re looking for elegance and subtlety in your reading material keep looking.

Robbie takes great pains to work in as much of the English language (especially adjectives, alliteration and metaphors) as he possibly can from one sentence to the next.

The book begins with two title pages and then a page that says

“For those who dream while awake and create instead of sleep.” (Um I think we have a word for that Robbie and it’s “daydream”).

The next page says “Begin Correspondence.” It seems like Robbie is suggesting that this should be read as some kind of secret transcription that only a few are privy to.

The third page says “The following information shan’t be repeated. Commit to memory the instructions given.” This sentence tells me that Robbie thinks he has a sense of humor. But considering the extremely serious tone of the “book” it seems misplaced.

Chapter 1 runs from page 5-11. It begins with a metaphor about life being a dinner table. When one is seated at the table he recommends that you “eye your table mates” to decide whom you can trust. He says that the universe has a “nepotistic nature”. He mentions a “High Order” on page 6. It seems like “High Order” is Robbie’s way of saying “club of destiny”, idk.

Robbie seems to believe that creative people are more special than others. The first chapter vigorously encourages the reader to do whatever it takes to pursue one’s creativity. He wants the reader to listen and obey their inner voice. To do anything else is as “insufferable a sin as any”. Well idk about that but whatever.

I’ve been a lifelong reader of biography, autobiography, memoir, true crime, history and fiction. I have never encountered a writing style like Robbie’s. It’s as if he’s got a lot of STRONG FEELINGS that he needs to EXPRESS. I never used half as much purple prose in my middle school journal.

By page 7 I got the impression that he is enamored with himself and his opinions. He seems like the kind of person who grew up never hearing “no” and rewarded for Every. Single. Thing.

He commands the reader to listen to every thought, urge, desire and notion that one has and to act on every single one. “Spit-shine your desires”, “...listen to the frivolous frequencies”, “elevate the consciousness of those around you”, “deliver lost spirits from their pits of despair” and “husk the cornfields of absolution” are a few directives that are given on pages 6 and 7 alone.

He goes on in chapter 1 to insist that one not be apathetic and lazy in the pursuit of the (creative?) “journey”. One is told on page 9 that the “all-knowing Cartographer” has big things planned for the reader. Robbie reminds us to believe that we are different. Special. On a higher plane than the “masses”.

He closes out the chapter by instructing the reader to develop a plan. This is how you will “show the universe” that you are serious about your “aspirations”. He likens one’s dreams as an “early morning typhoon”. The reader is informed that it’s okay if your dreams change over time. He finishes chapter one on page 11 by declaring that “it is a noble quest to be a disrupter of the accepted”.

In a nutshell, Parowan, Utah-born Robbie Tripp, age 23 in 2015, thinks that if you have a creative bone in your body that you need to make a plan to develop your creativity above all else. That being creative is the highest calling known to humanity and to ignore it is as much of a sin than anything else you can imagine. He stresses that a plan needs to be made by the creative person for their creativity but it’s on the reader to figure out how to make the plan.

Notable phrases (a few paraphrased):

• “Nepotistic nature” (of the universe)
• “The genuine of heart”
• “The common affairs of commoners”
• “Martyrs of mediocrity”
• “Unenlightened existence” (of the masses)
• “Heart full of wonder”
• “Pirate desires”
• “Make manifest your creative indulgences”
• “...salivary shiftlessness spewed...”
• “Fellow wandering dreamers”
• “Husk the cornfields of absolution”
• “Fiery streamers of passion”
• “Quantify your aura”
• “Cancel our candid customs of complacency”
• “Clear out the fiery fields of apathy”
• “Juggernaut engines of change”
• “Excavate the terrain of indifference”
• “The fearless elixir of self-embracing clarity”
• “Tsunami of transfiguration”
• “Intellectual vaccination”
• “Early morning typhoon”
• “...disrupter of the accepted.”

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks. Reading this mess is hilarious and annoying and makes me shout at my husband. If I had a dollar for every time I said “LISTEN TO THIS” to him I’d have enough money to buy myself the big bottle of Belvedere.