The article starts off with having two viewpoints about poetry:
1. The mad writer approach such as Edgar Allen Poe and Sylvia Plath that battle with "inner demons" in their poetry, and
2. therapeutic creative writing, where individuals use writing to cope with a difficult situation in their life and it has helped them overcome that problem.
The article states that although these two concepts are complete polar opposites, there seems to be a relationship-those with emotional or mental trouble leaning towards creative writing as an outlet of emotions.
The author first makes an analysis of mental illnesses but, unlike one of the three articles we read a few weeks ago, it uses the references very well and even states that "making distinctions can be particularly prone to error". Without manipulating the data, the author states how there is a high correlation between suicide rates and artists, such as writers or poets. Furthermore, suicidal poets tend to write for the self "revealing inward focus". It shows that they are socially shy as opposed to their non-suicidal mates. Schizophrenia is also mentioned to be another factor.
This article then starts talking about the Sylvia Plath effect as well. Female poets tend to pay attention to their depression, whereas male poets apparently tend to distract themselves, thus they are less likely to be suicidal.
1. The mad writer approach such as Edgar Allen Poe and Sylvia Plath that battle with "inner demons" in their poetry, and
2. therapeutic creative writing, where individuals use writing to cope with a difficult situation in their life and it has helped them overcome that problem.
The article states that although these two concepts are complete polar opposites, there seems to be a relationship-those with emotional or mental trouble leaning towards creative writing as an outlet of emotions.
The author first makes an analysis of mental illnesses but, unlike one of the three articles we read a few weeks ago, it uses the references very well and even states that "making distinctions can be particularly prone to error". Without manipulating the data, the author states how there is a high correlation between suicide rates and artists, such as writers or poets. Furthermore, suicidal poets tend to write for the self "revealing inward focus". It shows that they are socially shy as opposed to their non-suicidal mates. Schizophrenia is also mentioned to be another factor.
This article then starts talking about the Sylvia Plath effect as well. Female poets tend to pay attention to their depression, whereas male poets apparently tend to distract themselves, thus they are less likely to be suicidal.
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