"American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous."
— Don DeLillo
Art & Death
Sometimes I see a documentary or read a biography of a great artist, writer or musician. I find myself waiting for the inevitable turning point in their lives that sculpt them into something supra-human, icons of the human experience, obelisks that stand unhurt in the intellectual wasteland of popular society.* The turning point, is of course, always a tragedy—always, always, always. It breaks them, this shipwreck, this living cancer, and they rebuild themselves as something stronger, more beautiful and meaningful. But