Would Hemingway Be Special If He Wasn't A Drunk?

[axe4me]

 

[Frodebro]

Probably more so.

 

[PaulHikeS2]

No chance. Was just having this chat with my mom tonight about artists in general. My take was the the more messed up, the more interesting the art, be it writing, painting, film, music.

 

[Frodebro]

No chance. Was just having this chat with my mom tonight about artists in general. My take was the the more messed up, the more interesting the art, be it writing, painting, film, music.

The messed up part is already there for many of that type, the chemical enhancements may make things more pronounced, but they aren't the cause of the "uniqueness." More often than not, the self medicating is a poor attempt at blocking the deeper underlying issues.

 

[Marshall Stack]

Trent Reznor and Edgar Allen Poe come to mind. Maybe the author of Alice in Wonderland...

 

[PaulHikeS2]

The messed up part is already there for many of that type, the chemical enhancements may make things more pronounced, but they aren't the cause of the "uniqueness." More often than not, the self medicating is a poor attempt at blocking the deeper underlying issues.

Agree 100% in everything you say. And substance abuse is not a requirement for creativity and great art. Furthermore, it can also be self defeating. But for those artists whose mythos is tied to substance abuse, I find it hard to separate the two. I don't think Pollack would be a better painter, Bonzo a better drummer, or Hemingway a better writer if they could just lay off the booze. I think it's a part of who they were and while I think their lives would be better were it not for the abuse, their art would not have reached the heights that it did. Just my opinion of course.

 

[axe4me]

I dunno.

Some things just make inhibitions go away.

I think Jimi would be special regardless of the substance abuses.

I'd like to hear what Joe Walsh would sound like without the illegal enhancements.

 

[Frodebro]

I dunno.

Some things just make inhibitions go away.

I think Jimi would be special regardless of the substance abuses.

I'd like to hear what Joe Walsh would sound like without the illegal enhancements.

Walsh himself said that his biggest fear about sobriety would be that he would lose whatever it is that makes him who he is. He found out that it was not the case at all.

And personally, as somebody who is about two weeks away from 16 years clean & sober, I can say that it isn’t the drugs and/or booze that makes us who we are. Sobriety has had a profound effect on my abilities and creativity-in a positive way. And I’m also way more focused than I used to be.

 

[mcblink]

Walsh himself said that his biggest fear about sobriety would be that he would lose whatever it is that makes him who he is. He found out that it was not the case at all.

And personally, as somebody who is about two weeks away from 16 years clean & sober, I can say that it isn’t the drugs and/or booze that makes us who we are. Sobriety has had a profound effect on my abilities and creativity-in a positive way. And I’m also way more focused than I used to be.

Congrats on coming up on 16 years man.
That is a huge accomplishment.

 

[clutch71]

Walsh himself said that his biggest fear about sobriety would be that he would lose whatever it is that makes him who he is. He found out that it was not the case at all.

And personally, as somebody who is about two weeks away from 16 years clean & sober, I can say that it isn’t the drugs and/or booze that makes us who we are. Sobriety has had a profound effect on my abilities and creativity-in a positive way. And I’m also way more focused than I used to be.

Congrats Frodebro!

The flip side to this coin is think what the world would be like if artists got sober and survived?