# Event Details - **Event Name**: Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 22 Oct, 2026 at 07:00 pm – Thu, 22 Oct, 2026 at 08:00 pm (-05:00) - **Event Description**: The bestselling author of What’s the Matter With Kansas? in Kansas City!About this EventJoin Rainy Day Books at Unity Temple to celebrate The Creativity Con with author Thomas Frank.This event includes a talk from Thomas in Unity Hall (downstairs) within Unity Temple on the Plaza, along with an opportunity to get your book signed and personalized.The BookThe Creativity Con: How Innovation Became America's Biggest RacketA bold indictment of America’s chronic obsession with creativity and innovation, tracing how these beloved ideas came to dominate our political and economic conversation while serving to mask inequality and protect elite interests“Innovation” and “creativity” have been the defining watchwords of American exceptionalism for decades. They’re deployed by business leaders, tech gurus, military strategists, educators, and urban planners to describe our unique standing in the world. While other countries supposedly suffer from regimentation and a fatal lack of imagination, the United States is often portrayed as an unmatched dynamo of new ideas and products. In The Creativity Con, Thomas Frank disabuses us of this notion, offering a provocative account of the way creativity and innovation have been used as a kind of ideological cover for policies that reinforce the class system.Frank charts the construction of America’s glamorous self-image from Sputnik to Silicon Valley, Apple to Lockheed Martin, Madison Avenue to Main Street, Richard Florida to Donald Trump. He deconstructs the innovation agendas touted by politicians; reads pop psychology; tours SXSW, the mecca of creativity, where musicians mingle with Pentagon officials; and looks in on the cafés, sidewalk murals, and bike lanes that populate the neighborhoods built for the creative class. Along the way, Frank uncovers the insidious effects of centering innovation and creativity in our rhetoric while, in practice, nurturing exactly the opposite. He shows how, in the name of these noble goals, our leaders have reoriented the American economy around white-collar knowledge work, cut taxes for the wealthy, deregulated banks, offshored manufacturing, reoriented cities, and destroyed what is truly creative about this country.Deeply original, marked by Frank’s signature brilliance and acerbic wit, The Creativity Con is a troubling X-ray of postwar American business and political culture—and a crushing indictment of the clichés that have undergirded its many failures.The AuthorThomas Frank is the bestselling author of What’s the Matter With Kansas?; Listen, Liberal; The People, No; and other books. Frank is a founding editor of The Baffler, a former columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and has written regularly for Harper’s, The Guardian, and Le Monde Diplomatique. He lives outside Washington, DC.Please Note: There are no refunds for this event. If you are unable to attend, your book will be available for pickup at Rainy Day Books starting the following day. If you are not local, we'll be happy to mail it to you upon request. Thank you for your support!We will hold your event book in-store for a maximum of 6 months following the event. If you have not retrieved your book in that time period, it will be donated. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/kansas-city/thomas-frank-the-creativity-con-with-rainy-day-books/100001998389878923 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, workshops, music, entertainment - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Age Limit: all_ages - door_time: 2026-10-22T23:30:00Z - Duration: 1 hour - Location: Unity Temple on the Plaza - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 38.26, max: 43.98, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Kansas City - **state**: MO - **country**: United States - **location**: Unity Temple on the Plaza - **lat**: 39.0421855 - **long**: -94.59507699999999 - **full address**: Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 West 47th Street, Kansas City, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events1/banners/a798cdddb17f43f22d4137416ab6c6a6706ae0d8145613fbff482fdd43e4a845-rimg-w1200-h600-dc681818-gmir.jpg?v=1787251765 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books being held? - **A:** Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books takes place on Thu, 22 Oct, 2026 at 07:00 pm to Thu, 22 Oct, 2026 at 08:00 pm at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 West 47th Street, Kansas City, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books? - **A:** Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books is organized by Rainy Day Books. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Kansas City, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Thomas Frank, The Creativity Con with Rainy Day Books", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events1/banners/a798cdddb17f43f22d4137416ab6c6a6706ae0d8145613fbff482fdd43e4a845-rimg-w1200-h600-dc681818-gmir.jpg?v=1787251765", "startDate": "2026-10-22T19:00:00-05:00", "endDate": "2026-10-22T20:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/kansas-city/thomas-frank-the-creativity-con-with-rainy-day-books/100001998389878923", "eventStatus": "https://schema.org/EventScheduled", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Unity Temple on the Plaza", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "707 West 47th Street", "postalCode": "64112", "addressLocality": "Kansas City", "addressRegion": "MO", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "39.0421855", "longitude": "-94.59507699999999" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "The bestselling author of What’s the Matter With Kansas? in Kansas City!", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-08-20", "availabilityEnds": "2026-10-22T20:00:00-05:00", "validFrom": "2026-08-20", "lowPrice": "38.26", "highPrice": "43.98", "price": "38.26", "url": "https://allevents.in/kansas-city/thomas-frank-the-creativity-con-with-rainy-day-books/100001998389878923" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-08-20", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-08-20", "url": "https://allevents.in/kansas-city/thomas-frank-the-creativity-con-with-rainy-day-books/100001998389878923", "price": "43.98", "name": "2 seats, 1 book" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-08-20", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-08-20", "url": "https://allevents.in/kansas-city/thomas-frank-the-creativity-con-with-rainy-day-books/100001998389878923", "price": "38.26", "name": "1 seat, 1 book" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Rainy Day Books", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/rainy-day-books/18487938", "description": "Vivien L. Jennings is the Founder & President of Rainy Day Books, Inc.  Since Vivien opened the doors on November 04, 1975, Rainy Day Books has provided the Greater Kansas City community with a gathering place, a wellspring for ideas and creative thought, and an ongoing voice for literacy and awareness.  Rainy Day Books is the major independent bookseller in Kansas City, recognized locally and nationally profiled by The Kansas City Star, KC Small Business and Publishers Weekly for its community Author Events, which average 300 plus per year.  Rainy Day Books recommends selections to over 140 Book Clubs in the area.  Vivien and her partner Roger Doeren support many local charitable and civic organizations in raising both funds and awareness through many of the community Author Events.  Their philosophy is: \"Bigger Isn't Better.  Better Is Better.  We are interested not so much in what we have done, but more in what we still want to do.  It is thrilling to watch people leave our Events with the knowledge that authors and their books can expand their awareness, improve their health, make them laugh, touch their hearts, and encourage them to achieve a better life in abetter world. This is truly the spirit of the 'Legacy of Literacy' that we hope to contribute to the community.\"" } ] } ] ```