Saturday 20 September 2008

Unhinged - N M Browne


The other day I found myself pontificating about hinged and unhinged thinking. As it happened I was at a party, drink in hand, spouting general gibberish as I am too inclined to do, but unusually and inadvertently I might have said something that is almost true.

I need to be unhinged to write or at least to write easily. I need to uncouple my brain from my rational, logical mind, from my inner critic, my sub conscious editor, the still small voice of reason that might say – ‘Come off it – who are you trying to kid? That doesn’t make sense!’

My unhinged self is happy with the impossible, the unplanned and the illogical. In response to the whinging of my hinged self she simply shrugs her implausibly broad, pale green shoulders and responds: `‘And your point is?’ and then she’s off with a flick of her iridescent, metal wings.

My unhinged self has infinite faith in the power of the story, in the capacity of my unconscious to work things out. She doesn’t much care what anyone else thinks: she plunges into the story world and believes wholeheartedly in everything she puts there. She is quite obviously certifiable, but remarkably productive when given her head. The problem is that as she lives in mine, I am not always able to free her, to unhinge my thinking and let her out.
It’s a pity really because she can write really fast...

5 comments:

Lucy Coats said...

You might like to know that there is a valid medical explanation for all this unhingedness. My cranial osteopath tells me that there is a small bony bit at the base of the skull, known in the trade as 'the rocker', because that's what it does. He has loads of 'creative type' patients, and almost all of them turn out to be 'off their rocker' quite literally--ie with a bone physically out of place or unhinged. Nice to know we can't help it....

Penny Dolan said...

Must add that your unhinged self looks quite impressive in that pink dress, Nicky! Guess the wings must be folded behind her in this pic - and are those gloves the kind that will fold back for her really fast writing? Fear my unhinged self may be more angry troll than another Marilyn. Must add, Lucy, that's quite an amazing medical fact you've revealed!
Best,
Penny

Nicky said...

ah - my hinged self is an angry troll. Unfortunately I have no photographic evidence of my truly unhinged self but the concept of me as Marilyn is fairly deranged and will just have to do : )

Lucy Coats said...

Forget the troll--what about the Viking? Maybe a Valkyrie/Marilyn cross....

Mary Hoffman said...

Don't Scientologists attribute all their (and our) problems to troubles with the hinge? I believe it's because we all evolved from bi-valved molluscs.

Mary