There were some famous writers who were addicted to drink or drugs, however I believe that if they had not been addicts the quality of their work would have been even better, they would have written more and would have lived longer. Intoxication dims and blurs the creative mind and qualitatively the output cannot be as good as that of an emotional yet clear mind. They easily develop other mental problems. Dorothy Parker, an American writer and poet tried to kill herself several times. Earnest Hemingway after being released from a mental hospital where he had been treated for severe depression, committed suicide at his home in Ketchum, Idaho with a shotgun.
Two of my admired writers Jack Kerouac and James Joyce had drinking problems Joyce was binge drinking all the time during some years he stayed in Dublin. His drinking episodes occasionally caused fights in the local pubs. Kerouac’s death, at the age of 47, resulted from an internal haemorrhage (bleeding oesophageal varices) caused by cirrhosis of the liver, the result of a lifetime of heavy drinking.
F. Scott Fitzgerald notorious for his heavy drinking, which resulted in poor health and he had a heart attack in the1930s, and the next day he died. He was 44. Charles Bukowski, influential Los Angeles poet and novelist, famous for his womanising and life long addiction with alcohol wasted 10 years of his life when he got disillusioned with publishers and stopped writing. During those 10 years he did nothing but drink. William Sydney Porter who used the pen name of O. Henry was a failure at business, a spendthrift, and an alcoholic, he died in poverty. Dylan Thomas, a welsh poet died at the age of 39 because of drinking.
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American novelist, film screenwriter, and poet and won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature. Faulkner had a serious drinking problem throughout his life. However Faulkner himself stated on several occasions, and as was witnessed by the press, he did not drink while writing, nor did he believe that alcohol helped to fuel the creative process.
Not being a fan of any kind of addiction I personally think that Faulkner’s concluding part that ‘alcohol does not fuel the creative process’, barring an exceptional few (I doubt there may be even an exceptional few though) applies to everybody.
Two of my admired writers Jack Kerouac and James Joyce had drinking problems Joyce was binge drinking all the time during some years he stayed in Dublin. His drinking episodes occasionally caused fights in the local pubs. Kerouac’s death, at the age of 47, resulted from an internal haemorrhage (bleeding oesophageal varices) caused by cirrhosis of the liver, the result of a lifetime of heavy drinking.
F. Scott Fitzgerald notorious for his heavy drinking, which resulted in poor health and he had a heart attack in the1930s, and the next day he died. He was 44. Charles Bukowski, influential Los Angeles poet and novelist, famous for his womanising and life long addiction with alcohol wasted 10 years of his life when he got disillusioned with publishers and stopped writing. During those 10 years he did nothing but drink. William Sydney Porter who used the pen name of O. Henry was a failure at business, a spendthrift, and an alcoholic, he died in poverty. Dylan Thomas, a welsh poet died at the age of 39 because of drinking.
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American novelist, film screenwriter, and poet and won the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature. Faulkner had a serious drinking problem throughout his life. However Faulkner himself stated on several occasions, and as was witnessed by the press, he did not drink while writing, nor did he believe that alcohol helped to fuel the creative process.
Not being a fan of any kind of addiction I personally think that Faulkner’s concluding part that ‘alcohol does not fuel the creative process’, barring an exceptional few (I doubt there may be even an exceptional few though) applies to everybody.
Above is a photo of the famous American author Jack Kerouac, who was also a poet and painter.
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I know I hear the argument that people feel more creative when they take certain drugs (ive heard this less of alcohol of course). And I do believe it for weed or lsd or something. But I can see the other side of the argument. But I do feel everything is the way it is supposed to be. I think that some of my favorite writers/artists are my favorite because they were troubled. It almost sounds sick but I really feel connected to dark souls. People that can't really identify with the world so they take drugs to cope. It's not that I wish that for people, but I understand it. And I think it adds to the authenticity of certain authors writings. And I feel the same way about them dying early. I think its sad when people die early from unnatural causes but I think that it was just their lot in life. It is how they were supposed to go. I imagine that some of the authors that you talked about wouldnt even be famous if they hadnt had the death that they have. Our society has an obsession with untimely deaths. So I dont know. But as you mentioned some of the authors didnt die early and their addictions hampered their creativity. But that's what addictions do, they help you at one point and then ultimately cause your death if you don't stop. I guess it just depends on the individual.
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