A Strain Of Madness
My mind wanders...20 total reviews
Comment from Rikki66
Your thoughts give one a time to ponder; do I create all of this fantasy world and characters from my imagination or am I mad. As the tale suggests it is perhaps a little of both. Keep up the good work, Happy New Year.
Rikki66
reply by the author on 28-Dec-2017
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Your thoughts give one a time to ponder; do I create all of this fantasy world and characters from my imagination or am I mad. As the tale suggests it is perhaps a little of both. Keep up the good work, Happy New Year.
Rikki66
Comment Written 27-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 28-Dec-2017
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Thanks for reading and Happy New Year to you too.
Comment from Ricky1024
Eye strain of Madness as well written written seem as well as imagery explode well and it read well with no grammar issues adjective an object of contents were excellent and descriptive measures in place thanks for this doctor Ricky 1024
reply by the author on 27-Dec-2017
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Eye strain of Madness as well written written seem as well as imagery explode well and it read well with no grammar issues adjective an object of contents were excellent and descriptive measures in place thanks for this doctor Ricky 1024
Comment Written 27-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 27-Dec-2017
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Thanks for your review.
Comment from trumby
I often wondered why I sometimes felt a bit crazy. I have heard this theory spoken of before.
Maybe creative people have to spend too much time living and thinking on the edge. That might be the answer.
Whatever the case, I'm sure that someone a lot smarter than me has a theory about it
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2017
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I often wondered why I sometimes felt a bit crazy. I have heard this theory spoken of before.
Maybe creative people have to spend too much time living and thinking on the edge. That might be the answer.
Whatever the case, I'm sure that someone a lot smarter than me has a theory about it
Comment Written 25-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2017
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Thanks so much for reading.
Comment from aryr
This was so well done Maria. I personally think it was an appropriate time to write this. It brought forth an awareness that needed to be addressed. So many actually do suffer what I was taught to be either the seasonal blues (depression) or the seasonal madness (suicidal). And I once challenged a sociology professor as to what was considered 'normal' and why. So perhaps everyone has a hint of madness. Anyway well done.
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2017
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This was so well done Maria. I personally think it was an appropriate time to write this. It brought forth an awareness that needed to be addressed. So many actually do suffer what I was taught to be either the seasonal blues (depression) or the seasonal madness (suicidal). And I once challenged a sociology professor as to what was considered 'normal' and why. So perhaps everyone has a hint of madness. Anyway well done.
Comment Written 25-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 26-Dec-2017
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Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion.
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You are so welcome Maria.
Comment from giraffmang
Hi MJ,
I think if you look hard enough you can find any number of examples to support any hypothesis. in regard to writing and such like, there are so many more who remain alive and functioning... so don't worry too much just yet...
All the best
G
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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Hi MJ,
I think if you look hard enough you can find any number of examples to support any hypothesis. in regard to writing and such like, there are so many more who remain alive and functioning... so don't worry too much just yet...
All the best
G
Comment Written 25-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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LOL
Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas.
Comment from Dean Kuch
"I want to leave you with a quote from Aristotle: "No great genius has ever existed without a strain of madness." I wonder if he was right. ... Yes, Maria.
I believe Aristotle WAS right.
Here are a few more quotes from famous authors and poets concerning this topic:
"Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win."~Stephen King: 'The Shining'.
"I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind"
~Edgar Allan Poe
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche.
"Understand me. I'm not like an ordinary world. I have my madness, I live in another dimension and I do not have time for things that have no soul."~Charles Bukowski
Merry Christmas.
~Dean
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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"I want to leave you with a quote from Aristotle: "No great genius has ever existed without a strain of madness." I wonder if he was right. ... Yes, Maria.
I believe Aristotle WAS right.
Here are a few more quotes from famous authors and poets concerning this topic:
"Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win."~Stephen King: 'The Shining'.
"I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind"
~Edgar Allan Poe
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche.
"Understand me. I'm not like an ordinary world. I have my madness, I live in another dimension and I do not have time for things that have no soul."~Charles Bukowski
Merry Christmas.
~Dean
Comment Written 25-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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Thanks for this informative review, Dean. I have enjoyed reading it very much. Merry Christmas.
Comment from Sis Cat
I do not know the answers to the question you posed about the possible link between madness and genius. I know from studying the poems and stories of my late mother that at one point she contemplated killing her children and committing suicide only to be committed to a psychiatric hospital until "cured" and deemed safe enough to return to her children. My mother never told me any of this while she was alive. I had to find this in the writings she left before.
Given that my mother could have killed herself, I am grateful that her desire to reunite with her children brought her back from the brink and that her writing helped her through hard times. Not every writer experiencing mental illness and depression is as fortunate.
Minutes before I read your poem I listened to Sylvia Plath read her poem "Lady Lazarus":
I ache when I hear her words which are filled with madness and brilliance, and I mourn that we lost such a talented poet so young. And yet I am grateful that she left us these poems.
Writing is an obsession. "I write because I must and I must because I must, must, must," my mother wrote.
As for me, I have to keep pressing forward. Normal would be me on social media all day. Instead, I spent Christmas Eve reading dozens of poems in literary journals and chapbooks. That is BEFORE I logged onto FanStory to read even more poems online. Yes, that is madness.
I keep things in perspective and am grateful for my faith, my partner, and my chihuahua who help me stay balanced. I will never have an answer that will satisfy me as to the possible link between madness and genius, only that I must follow what my mother advised and write.
Thank you for sharing your musings. No, these thoughts are not morbid but caused me to do musings of my own as they relate to my mother's experience.
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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I do not know the answers to the question you posed about the possible link between madness and genius. I know from studying the poems and stories of my late mother that at one point she contemplated killing her children and committing suicide only to be committed to a psychiatric hospital until "cured" and deemed safe enough to return to her children. My mother never told me any of this while she was alive. I had to find this in the writings she left before.
Given that my mother could have killed herself, I am grateful that her desire to reunite with her children brought her back from the brink and that her writing helped her through hard times. Not every writer experiencing mental illness and depression is as fortunate.
Minutes before I read your poem I listened to Sylvia Plath read her poem "Lady Lazarus":
I ache when I hear her words which are filled with madness and brilliance, and I mourn that we lost such a talented poet so young. And yet I am grateful that she left us these poems.
Writing is an obsession. "I write because I must and I must because I must, must, must," my mother wrote.
As for me, I have to keep pressing forward. Normal would be me on social media all day. Instead, I spent Christmas Eve reading dozens of poems in literary journals and chapbooks. That is BEFORE I logged onto FanStory to read even more poems online. Yes, that is madness.
I keep things in perspective and am grateful for my faith, my partner, and my chihuahua who help me stay balanced. I will never have an answer that will satisfy me as to the possible link between madness and genius, only that I must follow what my mother advised and write.
Thank you for sharing your musings. No, these thoughts are not morbid but caused me to do musings of my own as they relate to my mother's experience.
Comment Written 25-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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I always enjoy your reviews, Andre, but this one was extra special. Thanks for letting me know a bit more about your thoughts and your mum (you had already told me about her).
And thanks for the generous rating, of course!
Merry Christmas.
Comment from w.j.debi
I remember reading a newspaper article when I was about twenty that stated 50% of all poets were institutionalized at some point in their lifves. I stopped writing for a while after that, not wanting to join their ranks. But as we writers know, you gotta write or you will go crazy.
I too feel the spirit of the season, but find no problem with taking a moment to be pensive. It never hurts.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on creativity and depression. I agree there is probably a link. Who else takes time to delve so deeply into the mind?
Have a wonderful holiday season.
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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I remember reading a newspaper article when I was about twenty that stated 50% of all poets were institutionalized at some point in their lifves. I stopped writing for a while after that, not wanting to join their ranks. But as we writers know, you gotta write or you will go crazy.
I too feel the spirit of the season, but find no problem with taking a moment to be pensive. It never hurts.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on creativity and depression. I agree there is probably a link. Who else takes time to delve so deeply into the mind?
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Comment Written 24-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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Thanks for this thoughtful review. Merry Christmas to you too.
Comment from royowen
I suppose I must be "normal", although I had a brief 18mth brush with depression after being dumped by my first love, then a friend committing suicide, I've led a reasonably normalish life. (God has good to me) but well done, I think that the attraction of talented people is usually their undoing, fortunate in one sense, but unfortunate in another. Well done, Maria, good article with food for thought, blessings, Roy
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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I suppose I must be "normal", although I had a brief 18mth brush with depression after being dumped by my first love, then a friend committing suicide, I've led a reasonably normalish life. (God has good to me) but well done, I think that the attraction of talented people is usually their undoing, fortunate in one sense, but unfortunate in another. Well done, Maria, good article with food for thought, blessings, Roy
Comment Written 24-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion, Roy.
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Well done
Comment from Dan Diego
A thought-provoking post with shades of melancholy. And a very enjoyable read. I once read that Christmas time often leads to depression for some. I think your word choice and narrative flow do not suggest that you are suffering, rather just interested in creating awareness. I looked for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, but I didn't find any. This is essay-like to me. You establish a premise, provide informative information and end with a summary. It actually reminded me of a night when my wife and I went to see a movie called "The Hours." Nicole Kidman plays Virginia Wolfe (many suspect she had plastic surgery to match the nose). I just remember watching the whole movie and enjoying it, but in the end, when the lights came on, I looked around to discover that I was the only man in the whole theater. My wife and I still laugh about it.
So, I suppose if writing is meant to provoke thought, then your short and sweet treatment of "madness" wins in spades.
Great job. Enjoy your holidays.
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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A thought-provoking post with shades of melancholy. And a very enjoyable read. I once read that Christmas time often leads to depression for some. I think your word choice and narrative flow do not suggest that you are suffering, rather just interested in creating awareness. I looked for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, but I didn't find any. This is essay-like to me. You establish a premise, provide informative information and end with a summary. It actually reminded me of a night when my wife and I went to see a movie called "The Hours." Nicole Kidman plays Virginia Wolfe (many suspect she had plastic surgery to match the nose). I just remember watching the whole movie and enjoying it, but in the end, when the lights came on, I looked around to discover that I was the only man in the whole theater. My wife and I still laugh about it.
So, I suppose if writing is meant to provoke thought, then your short and sweet treatment of "madness" wins in spades.
Great job. Enjoy your holidays.
Comment Written 24-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 25-Dec-2017
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Thanks for your kind review, Dan.
I also watched The Hours years ago and liked it very much.
Merry Christmas.
