Don't Buy This Book

Eric Wilson is the chair of the English Department at Wake Forest and he wrote this book called "Against Happiness." I went to his book talk last night at the Regulator. I thought he was going to talk about the blind pursuit of happiness in American culture, or even how American anti-intellectualism makes patriotism into something that requires unquestioning subservience rather than reasoned criticism of the status quo. No. Wilson is a melancholic and thinks that we should all embrace our gloom because melancholy is a veritable machine of creativity. “The greatest tragedy is to live without tragedy,” he writes. “To hug happiness is to hate life. To love peace is to loathe the self. The blues are clues to the sublime. The embrace of gloom stokes the heart.”

He also says that Americans just don't like to be sad. But seriously--don't many many American artists of all stripes address the importance of death and life through their work? Just try to tell me that Springsteen is obsessed with happiness. Doesn't compute.

Right. To which I say, "if you're so fucking gloomy, Eric Wilson, why the hell isn't this a better book?"
Here's the takeaway: if you feel sad, listen to your feelings because they are meaningful. Also, maybe consider contracting tuberculosis because apparently it works wonders for your creative output.
My recommendation? Don't buy the book.