"Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide" (Dryden) There often seems to be a link between creativity and mental illness. Many great poets, playwrights, artists and composers suffered from depression, alcoholism, obsessionality, bipolar or psychotic disorders at some time in their lives. How strong is the link and what might account for it? Are these disorders beneficial to the creative process or a drawback that must be overcome? The transcript and downloadable versions of all of the lectures are available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/genius-or-madness Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There is currently nearly 1,500 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Gresham-College/14011689941