Exercise and the Writer




Kill Your Darlings Journal » Podcast show

Summary: From Dylan Thomas, the Beats and Hunter S Thompson, to fictional Bernard Black, the image of the writer has long been romanticised as an unhealthy, alcoholic and otherwise-addled self-destructive force. But is this an outdated portrayal, and could it be holding us back creatively? Is it time for writers to ditch the boozey hedonist image and embrace running gear? I had a chat with three writers about their own exercise habits and how it affects their writing practice: philosopher and author of How to Exercise Damon Young, director of the Melbourne Writers Festival and bike nerd Lisa Dempster, and feminist commentator and roller derby’s ‘The Cleminist’ Clementine Ford.