Creativity and the Brain
"I feel that by writing I am doing what is far more necessary than anything else." *
Woolf could be daring in her fiction. She experimented with language and narrative form, finding new ways to bring the reader within the interior life of her characters. By definition her writing was creative; the work was original and valued.
Is there a relationship between Woolf’s literary prowess and her mood disorder? We can never be sure without the ability to question Woolf directly, but a broad spectrum of research points to a link between creativity and mental illness.
___Links___________
Depression and Creativity Symposium
Madness & Literature Network-Research Seminar Podcasts
Professor Susan Greenfield-Neuroscience of Creativity Part 1 of 7 Videos
University of Southern California Brain and Creativity Institute
___Resources_________
Books
Goodwin, K.F. & Jamison, K. R. (2007). Manic Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter: Creativity, p. 379-407
Research Papers
Scholars
___References for this Section____
* Woolf, V. (1985). Moments of Being. 2d ed. (J. Schulkind, Ed.) New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.