rock_steady88 Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 (edited) I've been doing some research on famous authors like Hemingway, King, and Joyce and I see they all had some kind of addiction and I did more research and found a lot more authors who also suffered from some kind of drug or alcohol addiction and it got me to wondering who are some famous authors that didn't have a substance abuse problem. Edited December 25, 2009 by Maureen Fixed font Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Of course there are! You cannot say that all famous authors have some sort of problem, as if it is a requirement! Wherever did you get that from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 I don't have one - but then again I'm not that famous, unlike my more famous almost namesake, whom everyone who can't read (including some literary agents to my angst) seems to think I share a name with, even though our writing is totally different ! Rejection letters addressed to Dear Jane - grrr ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausonius Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Of course there are! You cannot say that all famous authors have some sort of problem, as if it is a requirement! Wherever did you get that from? Amen! Examples: As far as we know, these authors were free of drugs while creating (or not creating): Vergil, Goethe, Thomas Mann, Jan Potocki, Tennyson, Dickens, Flannery O'Connor, Willa Cather, W.G. Sebald... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I think going through a lot of hard times makes you see a lot more and have a far different perspective, and colourful perspective upon life and your own being, which might explain why a lot of people who have suffered such problems have produced such fantastic art. It's not mandatory of course, but it's interesting how it shows within their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I agree Rawr and amongst the most brilliant artists in any of the fields, there does seem to be a high percentage with psychiatric disorders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Well Tolkien liked an ale and a pipe, but he wasn't exactly off his trolley... I agree that you can't apply a sterotype like that. It's similar to asking for names of actresses who don't have an eating disorder. I imagine if you research famous actresses who are considered to have eating disorders, you will uncover more than you thought there were. If you were to look into any profession, whether fame was involved or not, you would find there are a large group who have some problem or another in common. It's just human nature. Perhaps it's simply that if you're famous, your entire world becomes a public possession, and your would-be secrets are wider known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I'm guessing Jane Austen wasn't a junkie alcoholic and would also hazard a guess that her picnic wasn't short of anything, let alone a solitary sandwich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 And I don't think JK Rowling has any of these problems either?.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I've been doing some research on famous authors like Hemingway, King, and Joyce and I see they all had some kind of addiction and I did more research and found a lot more authors who also suffered from some kind of drug or alcohol addiction and it got me to wondering who are some famous authors that didn't have a substance abuse problem. Where did you do your research, Wikipedia? To say all authors have/had abused drugs, alcohol or whatever is just the same as stereotyping all rock and roll stars as cocaine snorting, womanising, devil worshipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 All authors write for a reason is at the heart of it, maybe sometimes we can't see a physical representation of a problem or reason, though it doesn't mean that it isn't there. Substance abuse is just one way of showing yourself that you aren't dealing well with a problem or just trying to cover it over, i think that is what writing is an act of in a lot of ways, so perhaps a lot of famous authors who have written masterpieces of literature without documented abuse problems and the like, chose to express their feelings in better ways, through their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock_steady88 Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 Where in my post did I say "ALL AUTHORS HAVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS"? I named Hemingway, Joyce, and King and said I looked a few other great authors who also had substance abuse problems. Since the ones I looked up all had problems I decided I wanted to know about some famous authors who didn't have substance abuse problems so I figured what better place to ask this question than on a forum dedicated to books. I guess next time I better word my question more carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 ... I decided I wanted to know about some famous authors who didn't have substance abuse problems so I figured what better place to ask this question than on a forum dedicated to books. And you've been given some answers - some marvellous authors listed here who, to our knowledge, have no problems with any substances. I think another few without any addictions (that I'm aware of) are: Kelley Armstrong Terry Pratchett Christopher Brookmyre Stuart Macbride Simon Scarrow Philippa Gregory Of course, everyone has their own demons and it could well be that some authors have addictions that are kept well hidden - you never know. Personally, my addiciton is chocolate and I abuse it on a regular basis. I also occasionally write short stories, so I guess you could say I am, to some extent, a writer with an addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Where in my post did I say "ALL AUTHORS HAVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS"? I named Hemingway, Joyce, and King and said I looked a few other great authors who also had substance abuse problems. Since the ones I looked up all had problems I decided I wanted to know about some famous authors who didn't have substance abuse problems so I figured what better place to ask this question than on a forum dedicated to books. I guess next time I better word my question more carefully. Most only offered our opinions on the topic, i don't think i outright accused you of declaring such a thing As Kell said, there are some great writers listed and some interesting opinions on the aside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 There are plently of writers from a very puritan stance, though the books I'm thinking of aren't novels per se (look through the self help books and you will find a high percentage of people who have never touched any kind of drugs). The stereotype of drug-addled, womanizing alcoholics being drawn to the writing world is something that has been with us as long as there have been books (in fact, you can probably trace this back to the epic poets if you had the time or inclination), but it doesn't represent the wider writing world. Journalism, on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.