title: An analysis of poets and novelists who completed suicide.
abstract: Thirteen famous writers who completed suicide during this Century were analyzed for common themes in their lives. Affective disorder and depression were found to be common. In addition, alcohol abuse was present in about a third of the writers. For six of them, the possibility of being unable to continue to write productively played a role in their depression and eventual suicide.
authors.affiliation: Richard Stockton State College, Pomona, N.J.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lester
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011037:Poetry as Topic; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*