I've often wondered what there is about despair that drives creativity and expression. Some of our most creative authors were driven by inner demons. Jack London and Ernest Hemmingway are two that come to mind. Both of them chose suicide to escape the torment.
Despair is something that we all face from time to time, as circumstances dictate. The kind I'm referring to is when the chemicals in the brain malfunction, causing a deep, dark depression with no apparent cause. For some unknown reason, despair can trigger a depth of creativity that would not otherwise be apparent. Sometimes it manifests in writing, sometimes in the arts. It doesn't have to be debilating.
I believe sustained hopelessness can result in sustained creativity. I started thinking more about this after reading an article by Lynn Lauber in the September/October 2008 issue of AARP. She is a professional writer, and teaches creative writing. Her article, "The Mourning Spot" discusses the death of a parent. I was blown away by her writing ability, and also her lack of hope. I would call it a mild case of despair. I read the article three times, because it was like eating a favorite dessert. It's not that I enjoy reading about death. It's that practically every paragraph has a descriptive nugget. It was like finding a chocolate chip in your favorite brownie. If she ever teaches creative writing in Portland, I'll be there.
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