Posts Tagged ‘Literature’
Suffering and Wisdom
Perhaps the most moving artistic creation I have ever encountered was a four hour performance of Aeschylus’s The Oresteia produced by Robert Icke in the Almeida Theater in London. The performance itself was truly staggering, and I would pay an exorbitant sum to have a recording of the performance. I often thought that I would show it to every class of students I taught if I had the means. The interpretation of the canonical Greek tragedy was that impressive, that intricately woven, a near perfect artistic creation.
Read MoreSalinger and Starting Over
As my girlfriend tells me, however, magic only happens outside of one’s comfort zone.
Read MoreWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare’s fascination with mental illness is readily apparent in his writings. For years, I taught Macbeth to my 9th grade students, and mental illness plays a decidedly prominent role in the story through both Macbeth’s visions and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking night terrors.
Read MoreWilliam Faulkner
In addition to being one of only seven authors in history to win both the Nobel and the Pulitzer prizes for literature, Faulkner wrote about mental illness in a time when the subject was even more of a cultural taboo than it is today.
Read MoreErnest Hemingway
Bill Walton, an extremely close friend of Ernest Hemingway, called him a classic manic-depressive.
Read MoreAdvances in Concussion Treatment
It’s hard to explain the impact that my concussion glasses have had on my life, and I hope that, if you’re reading this article and have had concussions, you will look into these glasses.
Read MoreReflections on the First Sentence of My Novel
Mama and Daddy spent their Sundays in silence, and if that don’t prove God exists, I don’t know what does. I first wrote that sentence in undergrad, and it remains untouched as the first line of the novel I am starting to shop around. To this day, that line remains one of my…
Read MoreMadness
Yesterday, a friend stumbled upon my website. I haven’t made much of an effort to broadcast my health struggles, and this friend was unaware of the recent discoveries in my life. He asked me what it was like living with mental illness. I must admit, I know he is going to read my response. That…
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