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A Famous Composer: His Cure for Writer's Block

Posted: 09 Jan 2015, 11:37
by RonPrice
Sergei Rachmaninoff was a master of translating melancholy and nostalgia into a musical language. He was cured of a profound writer’s block through hypnosis, and he dedicated his beloved Second Piano Concerto to his psychiatrist, Dr Nikolai Dahl. I dedicate my love for music to my mother and father both of whom played the piano in our home as I was growing-up.
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Churchill's John Bull profile stands out effectively against the elder statesman's chalk-white, exotic mask with the black lock of hair on the forehead. The conservative Disraeli revered the English way of life and tradition which Churchill, radical in many respects, has in his blood, including steadfastness in the midst of the storm and the resolute impetus which marks both word and deed. He wears no mask, shows no sign of cleavage, has no complex, enigmatic nature. The analytical morbidezza, without which the modern generation finds it hard to imagine an author, is foreign to him. He is a man for whom reality's block has not fallen apart. There, simply, lies the world with its roads and goals under the sun, the stars, and the banners. His prose is just as conscious of the goal and the glory as a runner in the stadium. His every word is half a deed. He is heart and soul a late Victorian who has been buffeted by the gale or, rather, one who chose of his own accord to breast the storm.

Re: A Famous Composer: His Cure for Writer's Block

Posted: 28 Jan 2015, 21:21
by Billy
Interesting, but not sure why it is posted here.


cup of tea
gone cold--
writer's block


writer's block--
building up to
a poem

Re: A Famous Composer: His Cure for Writer's Block

Posted: 28 Jan 2015, 22:04
by RonPrice
It's just some "writers' block palaver", Billy, and here is some more......I had a little sleep after lunch, and will now finish this post, as we used to call a letter, before going for my daily constitutional around the block.

It's now 2015.............Churchill's political and literary achievements are of such magnitude that one is tempted to resort to portray him as a Caesar who also has the gift of Cicero's pen. Never before has one of history's leading figures been so close to us by virtue of such an outstanding combination. In his great work about his ancestor, Marlborough, Churchill writes, “Words are easy and many, while great deeds are difficult and rare.” Yes, but great, living and persuasive words are also difficult and rare. And Churchill has shown that they too can take on the character of great deeds. Examining Churchill and his writing, writers can find insights into "writers' block." Each writer is a highly idiosyncratic entity, and writers' block is just part of that idiosyncrasy.

It is the exciting and colourful side of Churchill's writing which perhaps first strikes the reader. Besides much else, My Early Life (1930) is also one of the world's most entertaining adventure stories. Even a very youthful mind can follow with the keenest pleasure the hero's spirited start in life as a problem child in school, as a polo-playing lieutenant in the cavalry (he was considered too dense for the infantry), and as a war correspondent in Cuba, in the Indian border districts, in the Sudan, and in South Africa during the Boer War. Rapid movement, undaunted judgments, and a lively perception distinguish him even here.

As a word-painter the young Churchill has not only verve but visual acuteness. Later he took up painting as a hobby, and in Thoughts and Adventures (1932) discourses charmingly on the joy it has given him. He loves brilliant colours and feels sorry for the poor brown ones. Nevertheless, Churchill paints better with words. His battle scenes have a matchless colouring. Danger is man's oldest mistress and in the heat of action the young officer was fired to an almost visionary clear-sightedness. On a visit to Omdurman many years ago I discovered how the final struggle in the crushing of the Mahdi's rebellion, as it is depicted in The River War (1899), was branded on my memory. I could see in front of me the dervish hordes brandishing their spears and guns, the ochre-yellow sand ramparts shot to pieces, the Anglo-Egyptian troops' methodical advance, and the cavalry charge which nearly cost Churchill his life.

Re: A Famous Composer: His Cure for Writer's Block

Posted: 12 Feb 2015, 13:02
by thomaskbrent
I have an essay writing. I would like to write my essay cheap. I think this forum will be helpful for that.

Re: Removed

Posted: 27 Feb 2015, 00:58
by FrankThird
I hav

Re: A Famous Composer: His Cure for Writer's Block

Posted: 27 Feb 2015, 16:05
by RonPrice
The great statesman's mental health, and in particular Winston Churchill's manic depression, is still generating controversy today. In 2006, a British mental health charity defended a statue it commissioned of Churchill in a straitjacket, after the statue sparked a public outcry. Some people were outraged by the attempt to link Winston Churchill and manic depression or bipolar disorder as it was called after 1980.

The charity claimed it was trying to project a more positive image of people with mental illness. According to a spokesperson: "The message we want to portray is that it is possible to recover from mental illness and overcome it and be successful - because Churchill is an example of someone who was able to do that." In fact, some believe that it was more complex than that - that Sir Winston's achievements were because of his bipolar - not in spite of it. In a sparkling essay in his book Black Dog, Kafka's Mice, and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind, psychiatrist and historian Anthony Storr wrote: "Had he been a stable and equable man, he could never have inspired the nation. In 1940, when all the odds were against Britain, a leader of sober judgment might well have concluded that we were finished."

For more go to: http://www.bipolar-lives.com/winston-ch ... ssion.html

Re: Removed

Posted: 15 Mar 2015, 17:20
by FrankThird
I do

Re: A Famous Composer: His Cure for Writer's Block

Posted: 04 May 2015, 01:14
by FrankThird
Churchill called his bad days: Black dog days