Hesiod, Theogony 230 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"But abhorred Eris (Strife) bare painful Ponos (Toil), and Lethe (Forgetfulness), and Limos (Starvation), and the Algea (Pains), full of weeping, the Hysminai (Fightings) and the Makhai (Battles), the Phonoi (Murders) and the Androktasiai (Man-slaughters), the Neikea (Quarrels), the Pseudo-Logoi (Lies), the Amphilogiai (Disputes), and Dysnomia (Lawlessness) and Ate (Ruin), who share one another's natures, and Horkos (Oath)."
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Much has been written about the tragedy of talented and celebrated musicians who develop the disease of addiction. From legendary blues artists of the 1930's through the jazz greats of the 1950's and 60's to the tragic stories of today's music industry -- addiction has been there as muse unto creativity as well as angel of death.
While many have debated whether the jazz icon John Coltrane's music was better before or after getting clean, the phenomenon is not limited to musicians. It seems to me that creative genius -- whether musical, artistic, or simply creative -- has an unusually high frequency of addiction associated with it. Music is just the most obvious to us because that particular form of creative genius most easily leads to fame.
It is an observable fact that the gift of creative genius is often accompanied by the disease of addiction.
Eric Clapton illustrated this fact very clearly when he performed before a huge audience of addicts at an NA (Narcotics Anonymous) convention some years ago. After talking the stage he was met with overwhelming applause as he introduced himself with the words, "Hello, my name is Eric, and I'm an addict."
Judy Garland's story is not as rosy. Unbelievably talented and phenomenally gifted, she nevertheless died of a secobarbital overdose in 1969. This was in a time when the disease of addiction was hidden, not spoken about openly. Recovery for celebrities was far more difficult then. Can you imagine the repercussions if she had made a public admission such as Eric Clapton did?
We found this video today. This is Judy in 1964, body showing many telltale signs of addiction, mannerisms betraying that she's high -- but she nevertheless delivers an outstanding performance. Healthy folks may not see the cues, but we addicts can spot them a mile away. What a tragedy that she had no choice but to die in her addiction.
Mim October 15, 2009 04:44 PM PDT This is an interesting post. I really enjoyed reading it. However, I think it brings up a lot more questions than it answers. I would have liked to see a glimpse of why you wrote this; what about this phenomenon strikes up a curiosity in you, other than just the mere observation of it? What can be done about it? Surely it is sad what happened to Judy Garland, but what more should we get out of your closing statement other than that feeling of pity?
I feel your statement that "she had no choice but to die in her addiction" is flawed and can lead to negative attitudes about addiction. I realize that times were different back then and it was a hard subject to bring up. But she had a choice. And the choice she made was to avoid doing the difficult thing, the thing that is still difficult to this day: getting help. Just because it is hard does not mean there is no choice in the matter.
Again, I enjoyed reading this. I think you could write a lot more about this topic though! It is an often grazed over subject and I think it would be beneficial if people wrote more about it.
