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The Potential Link Between Creativity and Mental Illness

What does 'artistic temperament' really mean? In her new book, "Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament," Kay Jamison has studied the psychological makeup of many of our most revered artists--Byron, Tennyson, Van Gogh, Hemingway--and linked their genius to manic-depression. Jamison looks at current treatments for manic-depression, and considers their affect on a patient's ability to create. Kay Jamison is Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

16:29

Other segments from the episode on March 26, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 26, 1993: Interview with John Goodman; Interview with Kay Jamison; Review of the film "Born Yesterday."

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