Creative Life in our New Abnormal

Is creativity served by normality, or is fired to a fine finish in the tumult of crisis? While I expect the answer is yes to both, we might find courage and a hand up from the cauldron of unrest by remembering what is sometimes possible only when normal has been turned upside down and shaken by its heels.

I’m on a mission these days to find all the examples I can of creative work, great and small, done inside, because of, or in spite of periods of fear, unrest, and large-scale abnormality. While I expect the examples are just about limitless, I can get us started with a few of the major icons of bold creative breakthrough when times are hard.

Later I’ll have a post on doing our best creatively in difficult times. Today, here is food for contemplation and possibly inspiration.

Do you have other examples of creative life and achievement in times of crisis? Please add them in the comments. I—we—will be grateful.