17. Dead, mad, or a poet (Or, how to be less tortured)

(First things first: Thank you to thank Taylor Swift for releasing The Tortured Poets Department last month and thus making this episode kind of topical…)We’re all way too familiar with the idea that emotional suffering or “madness” is the most powerful source of our creativity. It’s the cultural story that just won’t die. But today, I’m sharing a folklore-and-history-informed counter-narrative.(Note that this is truly not even a lukewarm album take, Swifties do not come for me.)In this narrative, it’s not madness we’re supposed to be seeking when we go out to the edge of ourselves in search of inspiration – it’s divine joy. The kind of joy that by its nature isn’t going to look or feel the way we’d expect it to, but that will bring us closer to our truest fates.I think we have a duty to liberate our stories from the cult of the tortured artist. After all, we get to choose the lineages of our creative work. So if we don’t want to be the tortured poet… we don’t have to be.Tune in to discover what the lineage of the inspired poet can offer us instead._____If you’re dreaming of a sustainable writing practice filled with more life, spirit, and deep magic, visit the link to join the newsletter circle. You’ll get monthly inspiration and supportive, inspirited practices delivered right to your inbox.https://www.inspiritedword.com/about/#the-praxis-circlePrefer to access subscriber content via Substack? I got you: https://inspiritedword.substack.com/_____Episode links:Cauldron of Poesy translationsP. L. Henry, 1980Liam Breatnach, 1981Erynn Rowan Laurie (non-academic)General historical referencesH. R. Ellis Davidson, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religionshttps://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2018/03/dead-mad-or-a-poet/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadair_Idris#Myths,_legends_and_popular_culturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Knockgrafton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.