To Drink

An Expansion

To Sum It Up

In this chapter Edmundson begins by pointing out that many writers do, indeed, drink. They also do other drugs which he does not specify. The main focus of the chapter is explaining why exactly writers choose to drink. To do this Edmundson explains that anxiety is a part of human nature that must be accepted. It creates tension in the mind as exercise does to the muscles. Writers' tension comes in the form of worry. Worry that the story is sub par, worry that bills will not be paid, etc.... They turn to alcohol to release this and allow creativity to flow more freely. It also creates a level of "self acceptance" which relieves some of the anxiety writers feel. These effects can be helpful, but only if the writer does not not overdo it. Edmundson warns that exceeding the second glass of whatever one may be drinking can turn into something more negative. It can turn into a hangover or even ruin a marriage depending on the situation. A simple hangover is not all bad though. He points out that the excruciating focus caused by a hangover can be harnessed and used in the editing process. If one is hungover and feeling overly critical, he/she may edit a piece more effectively. Another interesting concept that Edmundson discusses in this chapter is the divided nature of man presented in different forms by Plato and Freud. He presents this divide as a source of natural tension because we are constantly working to fulfill the wants of each of our separate selves. To close the chapter, Edmundson discusses the fact that life is naturally dualistic. Underneath every positive lurks a negative underbelly. To write, one must be prepared for both.

To Drink to Excess

In his chapter Edmundson warns “The poet George Herbert tells us to avoid the third glass and there’s almost certainly something in what he says. It’s hard to avoid the third glass, though, especially when you use  alcohol the way I think many writers do” (Edmundson 103). Here, as he does throughout the book, Edmundson places himself in a position of superiority above the rest of the poor impulsive peasants reaching for that third glass. Some of these peasants include writers like Stephen King, Charles Bukowski, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In an interview with The Rolling Stone, Stephen King says “I was drinking, like, a case of beer a night. And I thought, ‘I'm an alcoholic.’ That was probably about '78, '79. I thought, ‘I've gotta be really careful, because if somebody says, ‘You're drinking too much, you have to quit,' I won't be able to’ (Greene para 36). While alcohol does cause a great deal of problems, for some writers, going beyond that second glass is simply a part of the creative process. This was true for King at one time:

Stephen King knew he was an addict in 1975, when he was writing The Shining. It manifested in his writing, as part of what he was doing; hidden from everybody else, it was in him, and on the page. Back then, it was only alcohol. As he became more popular, wrote more, earned more, took more time away from his family to work, his addictions escalated. How could they not? He needed to hit deadlines, and he liked the taste of what he was addicted to (Smythe para. 1).

Nearly all of the reasons for drinking which Edmundson discusses in his chapter are; however, external factors play a role as motivators as well. As we see in this quote on Stephen King pulled from an article by James Smyth, sometimes it is not the drinking that drives the writing, but the writing that drives the drinking as a result of deadlines and expectations among other things.

To Drink as a Woman

In his chapter, Edmundson mentions several male authors who are known for using alcohol as a elixir of creativity, but he fails to mention a single female writer. In reality, a place Edmundson has only heard rumors about, Women drink too. Two notable female writers known for their relationships with alcohol are Marguerite Duras and Elizabeth Bishop. In an article by Olivia Liang, Duras is quoted from an interview with the New York Times on her relationship with alcohol saying  "’I drank because I was an alcoholic,’  ‘I was a real one – like a writer. I'm a real writer, I was a real alcoholic…’” (Liang para. 3).  Stories like hers are rarely talked about because they challenge the socially accepted idea of what it means to be a women even now. Acknowledging that women are human would be a blemish on their socially constructed image of delicate femininity. Elizabeth Bishop also maintained a close relationship with alcohol:  

A lesbian in a period in which homosexuality was not sanctioned or accepted, Bishop found her greatest freedom in Brazil, where she lived with her female partner, the architect Lota de Macedo Soares. She spent her most peaceful and productive years there, though even they were interleaved with drunkenness… (Liang para. 11).

Bishop used  alcohol as a mechanism to cope in a world of closed mindedness and shame. In his chapter, Edmundson discusses various reasons writers turn to drinking, but it is important to remember that men are not the only ones who experience internal turmoil. Women also have minds, and often face the same internal battles that drive men to drink, and it is not always pretty. Elizabeth Bishop in particular “...more than once drank eau de cologne, having exhausted the possibilities of the liquor cabinet” (Liang para. 1).

To Do Hard Drugs

While drug use is mentioned in this chapter, Edmundson seems to skim right over it when, in reality, drug use is alive and well within the writing world. According to an interview with The Rolling Stone conducted by Andy Greene the previously mentioned contemporary writer, Stephen King was addicted to cocaine during a portion of his writing career which is a few steps beyond Edmundson’s measly two glasses of red wine. When mentioning drugs, one cannot forget Hunter S. Thompson. Though there seem to be very few reliable sources documenting his drug use, it is common knowledge that he was quite the connoisseur of substances. A writer more closely associated with alcohol, but also an avid user of drugs was Jack Kerouac who according to legend wrote his entire novel On the Road in a single benzedrine-fueled haze.

To Conclude

Whether we like to admit it or not, the bottom line is, there seems to be some connection between writing and drug use. Whether or not that connection is positive is difficult to determine. For writers like Stephen King and Marguerite Duras, alcoholism was a very destructive part of their lives. For others, like Hunter S. Thompson, they served as an essential part of the creative process as Thompson points out saying “‘I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me’” (Hooten para. 4). While it may be best to avoid that third glass, many great works of art have emerged from excess. Perhaps the greatest art stems directly from the human soul, and those who experience a pain strong enough to drive them to drugs, alcohol, and self destruction tap into a deeper vein of creativity by letting go completely, allowing their lives to spiral out of control. Like Hunter S. Thompson, I do not wish to advocate for drug or alcohol use, but it does seem to work for some people.

Works Cited

• Greene, Andy. "Stephen King: The Rolling Stone Interview." The Rolling Stone. N.p., 31 Oct. 2014. Web. 1 May 2017.
• Hooten, Christopher. "Hunter S. Thompson’s daily routine was the height of dissolution." Independent. N.p., 6 Jan. 2016. Web. 1 May 2017.
• Liang, Olivia. "'Every hour a glass of wine' -the female writers who drank." The Guardian. N.p., 13 June 2014. Web. 1 May 2017.