Guest editorial: Madness and literature

Abstract

In August 2010, the Institute of Mental Health hosted the 1st International Health Humanities Conference: Madness & Literature, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK. The conference was attended by a range of individuals who are prominent in the fields of medicine and literature, such as Elaine Showalter and Kay Redfield Jamison, and formed part of the Health Humanities initiative at the University of Nottingham. Health Humanities is a novel approach that is rapidly developing beyond the Medical Humanities to become a much broader and more inclusive movement, aimed at investigating how theory and practice from a variety of arts and humanities disciplines can inform and advance individual and institutional notions of health and well-being, not least mental health (Crawford et al., 2010). This movement aims for greater inclusion of non-medical professionals, carers, service users and a wider self-caring public. It was in this spirit that the conference was held and its associated web site, www.madnessandliterature.org, continues to attract a diverse membership of over 330 academic, clinical and lay members worldwide, offering short reviews of literature dealing with mental health themes or topics.