Notes from the Sick Room is an investigation into the connections between physical illness and creativity. Although there are a number of books investigating mental illness and creativity, there are very few that concentrate on physical illness – cancer, HIV, tuberculosis and disabilities caused by accidents. Incapacity provides time for contemplation and creativity, yet pain and discomfort detract from inspiration. Serious illness confronts the individual with the reality of death; the complacency of being is jolted by the shock of nonbeing. Does one record these incidences or ignore ‘art’ in order to survive?
“… a bricolage of ideas that coheres as a sort of image, a story of the necessity of ill health in our lives.”
