This final project has really been driving me crazy. It really made me wish that I had the ability to make a Radiolab type of thing, but alas, I am not computer savy enough.
I once had a professor that told me that all good writers suffer from substance abuse problems. After doing some research online I did find that many famous writers have used various narcotics during their career. I don't know if all of these claims are true, but i'd like to find out.
My essential question for my paper is : What effects do drugs have on creativity?
Many people argue that drugs open locked parts of our minds, others argue that drugs simply destroy the mind. I want to write a paper that looks into the subject.
Comments (1)
Your question is a good one, and as I mentioned by e-mail, you should start with J. Allan Hobson's The Dream Drugstore and Cieran Regan's Intoxicating Minds-- to get enough background of the brain physiology involved the use of various drugs. I can also lend you a big fat pharmacology textbook that I have in my office!
That said, it's just not true that a great writer is always a substance abuser. Many have been, but many have not been. I just had to clear that up.
Okay, that said, the next thing to do will be to narrow down your topic and come up with a set of writers to work with. 1 - 3 is probably a good number to keep it manageable. You might consider including a paragraph or two where you offer a survey of writers/works that related to your questions, to show that the ideas resonate beyond the texts you're working with.
Take a look at Arielle's proposal. She has something similar in mind, focusing on the relationship between dreams and madness in literature. You might be able to help each other in terms of strategy.
Finally, if you want to do this as a Radiolab-like podcast, let me know. I can help you with it (and put you in touch with someone who can help you more than I can). It may be too much to include a lot of music and sound effects, but you may be able to do something that is effective in its simplicity.
Posted by Jason Tougaw | November 23, 2007 9:06 AM
Posted on November 23, 2007 09:06