Being a writer myself, I know how difficult at times it is to come up with ideas or inspirations for writing. Which is the reason why like most other artists, even writers turn to external help sometimes for a little inspiration. While almost all writers are addicted to smoking or drinking or both, some took the taking inspiration a bit too seriously and delved into the world of narcotics.
These 12 pieces of noted writings were created under the heavy influence of drugs, of one kind or another.
1. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway was a big alcoholic and fought with alcoholism all his life. In this book, almost every character is a heavy drinker, signifying his own addiction and battle with alcohol.
2. Naked Lunch by W.S. Burroughs
The pioneers of the Beat culture were essentially social rogues, and to mark that status, most of them did drugs heavily. Burroughs was a heroin addict and Naked Lunch was produced during this period.
3. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Another Beat writer Kerouac wrote his most noted book while being on about a month-long drug frenzy, and finished the novel on a 120-foot roll of paper.
4. Cujo by Stephen King
Stephen King battled with alcohol and drug addiction for long during the 80’s. He sometimes took so much cocaine that he would be forced to stick cotton wool up his nose to stop dripping blood on his typewriter. Cujo is just one of those many books he wrote during that period.
5. Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre
Due to the pressure on writers to produce a massive amount of writings within a very short period of time, Sartre used to take mescaline to help him speed up. No wonder his writings are… erm… a tad bit difficult to understand. Maybe I should read this book when I’m a bit ‘high’!
6. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Rand was completely addicted to amphetamine. She started taking and got easily addicted to Benzedrine, and it is during this period of her life that she produced her masterpiece.
7. Rob Roy by Walter Scott
Laudanum was a popular drug that people took left and right during the 19th century. So did Scott, while writing Rob Roy.
8. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Graham Greene was noted for his liking of things like opium. And it is said that this tale of a rogue Catholic priest was fueled by a heavy intake of Benzedrine.
9. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by R.L. Stevenson
Stevenson was a known cocaine addict, and the frenzy that he got from taking the drug fueled his imagination to such extent that he came up with his masterpiece – the tales of a person with a split personality!
10. Candide by Voltaire
Voltaire was a caffeine addict and gulped down coffee like a fish gulps water, anywhere from 50 to 70 cups a day, and produced Candide.
11. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey
De Quincey was an opium addict, big time. This memoir of his acted both as his catharsis and as the totem that brought him instant fame.
Honourable mention-
12. Kubla Khan by Coleridge
Coleridge got the inspiration for this poem in a heavily opium-induced dream; at least that’s what the preface to this poem, written by him, suggests.
And they say narc never did any good. As if!