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Struggle for Self – Creativity Out of Angst

Posted on | February 25, 2014 | No Comments

Just when you thought you knew someone. Reading the papers at the time of his death and his children's later books about him, I had placed John Cheever in a category: Difficult, closeted, alcoholic artist, troubled by lack of success, and struggling to stay on top when it appeared - a man who wrote beautifully and threw our high school English and Literature Department into a tizzy with Falconer. It was avant garde for a Midwestern high school, heady stuff, and probably would not have been allowed if management was watching more closely. But it was the 70's after all. Blake Bailey's fascinating book, Cheever, A Life is incredibly detailed, but moves so quickly like a lovely meal, it's 600 plus pages have to be read almost at one time... and I dare you to name three works by Cheever. Unless you're the Cheever scholar you don't know how much you don't know - about Cheever's work. What works for me, not the least of which is Bailey's descriptions of the man, his work, and his suffering is, well, the suffering... Cheever came from very troubled parents, lived in the shadow of his older, sexier, and more accomplished brother, and never finished high school. He was relatively short and prone to pretension when troubled. His notes are filled with misspellings and poor grammar, spent most of his life looped on alcohol and later, 70's medication, living a somewhat secret life and still managed to be voted by anyone who counted, one of the ten most influential American writers up until that time. Was he creative because he was troubled, or troubled because he was creative and struggled against the usual tough odds?
Cheever - Google Images 2014

Cheever - Google Images 2014

His decisions about alcohol, matrimonial monogamy, and the model he thought he presented to the world versus the one they knew or suspected are still contemporary subjects. The drive to succeed against all odds, taking down eternally patient and ultimately forgiving family members in the process, destroying and being destroyed by competition and miscommunication, and finding little joy in his dreams fulfilled, he focused solely on what was missing, drinking to numb the loss. Blake Bailey's book should be required reading for psychology students and would-be writers.
Blake Bailey - Google Images 2014

Blake Bailey - Google Images 2014

It's a realistic view of how far down a man goes in his own self esteem while demanding unrealistic attention from the public. Every story has three sides - at minimum. Shawn Nichols, MA, CC shawnnichols.com
Category: Addiction, Relationships, Shame/Humiliation

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