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What It Means To Be Human, 2010. This post contains fascinating quotes from artists, writers and commentators and is getting looonger all the time – more than 150 so far. And of course, it’s about brains of poets, or, poets’ brains. And, look up to the left, under Home, for Quote of the Month, updated August 12, 2011. You might consider visiting the Journal of Consciousness Studies on the web and getting put on their listserve of multi-disciplinary commentary on the brain. Also fascinating, though sometimes very complex for a general reader – costs nothing to try.
A source for the hardcore science of the poet/writer brain. Snippets of info I will later make into a full chapter. Get ready to crunch crunch the science of poetry: language is a drug.
Today’s item: Dopamine/spindle system. For far too long this has been erroneously known as the pleasure centre of the brain. There is no such thing and even people as bright as Plato got it wrong. It is not reason over emotion at all. It is that you cannot make a decision without the input of the subconscious part of the brain. That is the problem with psychopaths – they cannot feel the way others do, so they cannot understand why they should not kill them.
This is the first few chapters of one of the books I am writing about the brains of poets, delving into the science and the art of poetry. No other site is synthesizing these very different worlds. See also: bibliography (under brains) for reading materials. I am, for instance, quite a way yet from the issue of creativity, and its relationship with mental illness. See Kay Redfield Jamison, Touched with Fire. Coming now: I am writing a second book that cuts to the chase, and in the first chapter tells you how a poet’s brain does what it does. Check out: brain bites, first items, intended to be short decisive ways to check your creative abilities.
BRAINS ARE HERE. Both Creepy and Amazing. Click on brains and zoom through tissues!
For great books of poetry, up and to the left: home. See other neat things for a creativity exercise, and random poetry aesthetics, June 29, 2009.
And go to Amazon.ca for my book reviews. Look under brain book reviews above.
And NEW: The Poet’s Personality – Do you have what it takes to be highly creative in words. Do you recognize yourself below?
This post is the short notes for the lectures on the human brain, and the brains of poets, that I am giving at universities, writing festivals and annual general meetings of writers organizations in 2011 – 2012. Any university or college that wishes me to speak to their students on creativity, especially as it relates to creative writing, please get in touch with me.
POETS: LOOK AT THIS. Here are some suggestions for you to pay attention to regarding your brain. It will make you a far better poet. Look below ‘Brains of Poets: Pay Great Attention to:’
SEE NUMBER 59. INVENT YOUR OWN LANGUAGE GAME. This one will improve any university student’s school work. You will get higher marks. So get a group together and try this one out. And then let me know how it goes.
Are You a Poet? Simple Tests.
For those who can’t commit to looooong chomps of text, some neat, discrete things about the poet’s brain – and yrz 2.
