This post is part of a series. Please start reading at ‘Stage & Screen 1’ below.

In the ‘Essays’ section of Strength Weekly is a piece titled ‘What We Talk About’ in which I write about a series of experiences I had at the Anti-University of London (see the ‘1968’ entry here) in the late 60s. I supply a link to the essay here in order to develop the idea, raised in the previous post, of the schizogenic society – one which makes some of its denizens schizophrenic. The essay is largely concerned with an article that Patrick Schofield – a ‘schizophrenic’ inmate of a British mental hospital – wrote for the hospital magazine. The article was the product of a fierce and lucid intelligence focused on an analysis of hospital life. Patrick was mad therefore whatever he wrote was worthless. This handy rule of thumb fell apart so spectacularly that Patrick was abruptly ejected from the hospital in order to preserve the sanity of its staff.

I invite you to read the essay before considering some extracts from Patrick’s article.

06.08.2009

Continued in ‘Stage & Screen 5’…