The Curious Case of Henry Joseph Darger Jr.

Some of the greatest creators in history were never known until they died. As an author, this idea of posthumous fame and fortune used to depress me. After all, what good is a fortune you never get to use? And what good is fame you never get to enjoy?

If we look at the greats, many of which I mention on this site regularly, a good deal of them never got to see all the money and recognition others collected from their works after they passed on. The works of Tolkien, Lovecraft, Asimov, C.S. Lewis (among others) became famous after they kicked the proverbial ink bucket. But Still, we all know these authors. Their work was so good that even after someone else interpreted it and made it into a movie, it never lost its shine. At the core of these greats, there was an innate ability to tell a story everyone could identify with.

But what about the writers who never got recognition even after they died? There are a few, but how would we know about them if they were never recognized? Some were brought to light in other ways for other reasons. Henry Darger was one such creator. I say creator because he wrote, he drew and he made sculptures, and he did so fully expecting to take such things to his grave without any kind of recognition.

For those of you who know who Henry Darger was, congrats for giving him some recognition. There are very few writers who manage to write over 30000 pages in their life and illustrate hundreds of pictures for their works, and never even attempt to publish a single page. Very few writers and artist have that kind of creative engine pushing them forward. Henry Darger wrote for the sake of writing, which is something we should all aspire to.

Even though the subject matter is decidedly strange, and the writing is at times long-winded, it’s completely unique in the world of both art and writing. Not to mention that Darger was completely self-taught. For the better part of his tragic life he wrote in secrecy. Most people never even knew he was a writer. They knew him as a janitor and menial laborer, that was until he died and they found what he was hiding in his apartment.

Although he never got recognition when he was alive, he became a big part of pop culture in the 1990s and influenced the underground art and music scene through current times. His books became something more than a dead man’s work. They hid within a growing subculture of artists and writers. The problem was, they were so well hidden that no one recognized that they were there. 

So let's give a nod to the works of Henry Darger and solute his work!

Cheers!