My name is Jacob Slichter.  I'm a musician, writer, and teacher.  I continue to find that the insights that inform my drumming inevitably find their way to my writing, that writing informs my teaching, and so on.  As I talk with people who work in other fields and hear about how they formulate and solve problems, the connections between all forms of creative work continue to fascinate me.  Hence this blog.

As a musician I am best known as the drummer for Semisonic, a Minneapolis-based trio that also includes Dan Wilson and John Munson.  I'm also a songwriter, arranger, and producer.

My writing includes my memoir So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star (Broadway Books, 2004). I've written for the New York Times and been a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition.

I teach creative writing, currently as an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence.  I also teach people how to play drums, to write music, and, as a presenter for Music That Makes Community, to lead others in song.

The blog title references a line from Paul Valery. "A philosophy should be portable."