Henry Darger: Masterpiece of a Janitorial Da Vinci
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Henry Darger was a quiet, small man who worked a humble job as a hospital custodian in Chicago, Illinois. It was only after he passed away that the world discovered the grand imaginary world he had created within his tiny apartment.
He wrote a monolithic manuscript that was 15,145 pages long. The manuscript, known as — get this: “The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion,” — is a labyrinth of complexity. Unlike books written by professional wordsmiths, Darger’s work doesn’t follow the usual rules of writing. His characters explode onto the pages with the ferocity of fireworks, while his plot lines swerve and swoop like a rollercoaster.
Darger’s work is like a Baltic Wheel labyrinth, where every turn takes you deeper into its mysteries. Unlike a professional writer who carefully manages all parts of the story, Darger’s work is more like an uncontrolled adventure into his psyche.
Darger never attempted to publish his work or follow popular writing trends. His creation was his refuge, a parallel universe reflecting his solitude in…
