Jason Hillenburg's Comments
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Jan 4, 2010 | recommended: 1 | comments: 6
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 7:34pm EST
Was this high school or auditions for The Breakfast Club? :)
Jan 4, 2010 | recommended: 3 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Jason Hillenburg
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 7:33pm EST
By the way, don't beat me up. Too badly at least. :)
Jan 4, 2010 | recommended: 3 | comments: 24
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 7:32pm EST
Back in dem yonder Tenn-ess-ee days, did ya all take the wagon to school, or did you have a donkey named Festus that ya rode? ;)
Dec 23, 2009 | recommended: 2 | comments: 8
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 6:41pm EST
Reminds me of those old horror comics - the antagonist gets his comeuppance in a wonderfully devilish way. Much better than a hundred happily ever after Christmas tales. :)
Jan 4, 2010 | recommended: 5 | comments: 19
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 5:44pm EST
I nominate this as one of the greatest articles ever on Gather. God bless you, may you go to heaven.

Besides, if Gary thinks you have something with this, who am I to quibble? :)
Dec 1, 2009 | recommended: 3 | comments: 12
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 1:13pm EST
Parker lost me a long time ago. A man who was once a strong writer bringing new elements to the private detective novel has been writing paint-by-numbers "non-novels" for a number of years now. The last good Parker I read was his "collaboration" with Raymond Chandler on Chandler's unfinished Marlowe novel, Poodle Springs.
Jan 2, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Nicole H
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 12:02pm EST
This article deals with a narrow tailored subject - the addicted artist, particularly the American variety. But this subject doesn't have to cover just alcohol. Alcohol is just one example of the systemic dysfunction often found in the heart of a creative personality. The aforementioned examples are all writers that I am, in some cases, VERY familiar with and I could tell you things about some of them that would curl your hair and burst any illusions you have about them being artists who lived simply and pursued positive lives. The list you offer tells me that you know precious little about the biographies of some of these people. Most of your examples fail to prove the point you are trying to make. In some cases, like Mary McCarthy, it's an epic failure.

However, I am not dealing with absolutes. At no point have I said that every important artist of the 20th century had a drug/alcohol problem. Just that the litany of brilliant men and women who have suffered and died at the hands of such an affliction is staggering and worth study.
Jan 2, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Nicole H
Jason Hillenburg Jan 4, 2010, 12:00am EST
Furthermore, Nicole, it saddens me that you didn't see the positive message of this piece. I firmly believe it to be positive. It says here is this dark tradition, it's bullshit, don't buy it, work hard at your craft and don't take the easy way. Instead, you stopped at the litany of deaths and didn't look deeper. I'm sorry that is apparently all you took away from this.
Jan 2, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Nicole H
Jason Hillenburg Jan 3, 2010, 11:57pm EST
However... Saul had an enormous ego, was a chronic philander until late in life, a poor father, a borderline misogynist and racist. Next.

Not all artists are doomed to addiction, but the idea of a complex, creative personality living "simply" is laughable. Positively? Another vague "idea", I'm not sure what you mean by that.
Jan 2, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Nicole H
Jason Hillenburg Jan 3, 2010, 11:51pm EST
Out of the 7 American writers who have won the most prestigous literary prize in the world, the Nobel, only 2 were not alcoholics. Pearl S. Buck and Saul Bellow.

Saul Bellow is one of my favorite writers, a true giant of American literature.
Jan 2, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 24
in reply to a comment by Rachel D.
Jason Hillenburg Jan 3, 2010, 11:47pm EST
A number of reasons.

In my opinion, it really seems that the notion of "moderate" drinking is relatively new to America. In the Wild West, the saloons were places to get hammered, not have an after-dinner glass of wine or a beer at lunch. During Prohibition, you certainly didn't drink casually at a speakeasy. Frat houses and college parties are not renowned as any bastions of sobriety.

Alcoholism is often referred to as a disease of individualism. In this country, individualism has traditionally been extolled. The romantic allure of the loner, living outside the mainstream, should not be underestimated. I think it has played a role. So many love that image of the hard-bitten, live fast and die young sort and are all too willing to glamorize this behavior.

Hemingway had a theory about why American writers seemed prone to alcoholism. He believed that American writers were truly ambivalent about their profession; on one hand, they were artists who disdained commerce and were writing for posterity. On the other hand, they coveted wealth and fame in the present. The bitch goddess of America, success, can create a tremendous strain on those who covet it.

Certainly such behavior does not respect national origin. But it has manifested itself in our nation in highly peculiar, visible way. However, I do believe that the drinking writer is not nearly as visible as before, perhaps because writers are far removed from the public consciousness compared to the early and mid 20th century. Today, we glamorize the travails of Lindsay Lohan, Brittney, and innumerable other celebrities who fall into drug abuse/addiction.

As with all things, I'm just expressing an opinion here, one that has prompted book-length studies. However, I felt you asked a great question that deserved an answer.
Jan 2, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 24
Jason Hillenburg Jan 2, 2010, 6:09pm EST
First draft of this. I'll revise my thoughts some and, unfortunately, the possibilities for expanding this piece are limitless.
Jan 1, 2010 | recommended: 2 | comments: 4
in reply to a comment by Ferosh (Site Translator for LOLSPEAK)is O.
Jason Hillenburg Jan 1, 2010, 1:20am EST
Hah. I wanted to completely replace the previous draft. Judge this one on its own merits.
Dec 28, 2009 | recommended: 10 | comments: 71
in reply to a comment by Jason Hillenburg
Jason Hillenburg Dec 31, 2009, 11:52pm EST
It was instructive, if nothing else.
Dec 28, 2009 | recommended: 10 | comments: 71
Jason Hillenburg Dec 31, 2009, 6:20pm EST
I've thought I was in love with a real person. It later turns out that I was just writing in my mind.
Dec 31, 2009 | recommended: 5 | comments: 53
Jason Hillenburg Dec 31, 2009, 2:07pm EST
Hey! This is a raw, biting poem that drops every mask, every poetic affectation, and strips everything down to its essence - a staggering heart that must communicate. I never had nursemaids when I was passing out in public and making everyone miserable around me - not even the embittered kind who secretly wished I was dead. What I had around me were a gaggle of untrustworthy bastards who claimed a kinship to me. And yes... we had ties. We were bound together by death and nothing more.

Got me thinking this afternoon. That's a gift. Thanks for sharing this.
Dec 29, 2009 | recommended: 9 | comments: 76
in reply to a comment by Jason Hillenburg
Jason Hillenburg Dec 29, 2009, 4:05pm EST
Oh. Kinda unavoidable then.

Again, you are in my thoughts. I hope for the best for you.
Dec 29, 2009 | length: 00:10 | recommended: 2 | comments: 4
Jason Hillenburg Dec 29, 2009, 3:15pm EST
Ok, that was 10 seconds of my life I'll never get back.
Dec 29, 2009 | recommended: 9 | comments: 76
Jason Hillenburg Dec 29, 2009, 12:51pm EST
Yeah, watching Fox News does even less for my mood than watching CNN. Turn it off.

I wish you the very best. The fear you are experiencing must be terrible.
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Jason Hillenburg
Bloomington, Indiana
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