The Virtues of Disillusionment

Listen to Steven Heighton’s new single “2020 (Cohen’s Future)” from his forthcoming album.

Most people go through life chasing illusions of success, fame, wealth, happiness, and few things are more painful than the reality-revealing loss of an illusion. But if illusions are negative, why is the opposite, being disillusioned, also negative? In this essay based on his inaugural writer-in-residence lecture at Athabasca University, internationally acclaimed writer Steven Heighton mathematically evaluates the paradox of disillusionment and the negative aspects of hope. Drawing on writers such as Herman Melville, Leonard Cohen, Kate Chopin, and Thich Nhat Hanh, Heighton considers the influence of illusions on creativity, art, and society. This meditation on language and philosophy reveals the virtues of being disillusioned and, perhaps, the path to freedom.

About the Author

Steven Heighton’s most recent books are a novel, The Nightingale Won’t Let You Sleep, and a poetry collection, The Waking Comes Late, which received the 2016 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. His novel Afterlands has appeared in six countries, was a New York Times Book Review editors’ choice, and is in pre-production for film. He has taught creative writing or served as a writer in residence for McGill University, Massey College, Queen’s, Concordia, the Banff Centre, UPEI, the University of Ottawa, SLS, Sage Hill, and, currently, Athabasca University.

Reviews

An enthralling one-sitting read, a thought-provoking account of a linguistic paradox, the creative drive, and the author’s growing self-awareness.

Robert J. Wiersema, Quill and Quire

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.