I assume "bipolar" and "manic/depressive" are pretty much the same thing?
One of the most manically brilliant of American poets, Robert Lowell, was
bipolar (manic/depressive). He was a large, strong man prone to occasional
bouts of physical violence. I seem to recall that he once picked up Alan
Tate and dangled him out a window, threatening to drop him (he didn't,
thankfully). He wrote several books of brilliant poetry, but was so
destructive to himself and those around him that they put him on lithium.
This calmed him down quite a bit, but critics agree that his poetry was
never the same after that. Read his biography if you want to see a
fascinating tale of the effects of this illness.
I called him once out of the blue when I was just out of college and wanted
to be a poet. He was incredibly friendly and spent half an hour on the
phone with me trying to help me. Eventually, I became a computer programmer
rather than a poet (much to my dismay).
Some of the best American poets have been self destructive (Hart Crane,
Sylvia Plath), but not all. Wallace Stevens wrote some of the best poetry
ever, and he was an insurance salesman all his professional life. I believe
he best expresses the essential beauty and absurdity of human existence.
Del
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ode Coyote" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 9:23 AM
Subject: Re: CS>Bipolar disorder
After having listened to a bipolar justify his problems for years and
years...it became clear that he had diametrically conflicting desires and
denied having half of them....the half that he couldn't justify, but
obviously still pursued fulfillment of.
He was a GENIUS that wanted to be a bum, but his ego wouldn't allow it.
I kept telling him that so long as he wasn't burden, being a bum needs no
justification..and not being a burden takes very little effort if you are
willing to live what you want, the way it is.
--
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