Paradox of Suicide and Creativity: Authentications of Human Existence - Hardcover

by M. F. Alvarez (Author), Of Psychology George Atwood (Foreword by)

If creativity is the highest expression of the life impulse, why do creative individuals who have made lasting contributions to the arts and sciences so often end their lives? M.F. Alvarez addresses this central paradox by exploring the inner lives and works of eleven creative visionaries who succumbed to suicide. Through a series of case studies, Alvarez shows that creativity and suicide are both attempts to authenticate and resolve personal catastrophes that have called into question the most basic conditions of human existence.

Author Biography

M. F. Alvarez is postdoctoral diversity and innovation scholar in the Department of Communication at the University of New Hampshire.