It's been reported that a new book on the life of Keats suggests he was drowsy and inspired by opiates far longer than had been hitherto claimed, particularly in 1818-1819, around the time of his brother's death from TB, and some of Keats' greatest poems. Laudanum, opium, heroin - take your pick, these and other drugs have been used by people for centuries; some of the people who used them were artists, even geniuses; most were not, some monumental bores. As someone noted years ago in the cult film Liquid Sky , David Bowie was Bowie before the drugs. I expect without Keats' poetic skills, insights and brilliance, the drugs wouldn't have worked. New worlds swim into view on peaks without unnatural highs. Peeking into Chapman will do.
POETRY, POLITICS, PROVOCATION AND POPULAR CULTURE SINCE 2005 - 20 YEARS AND over 10 million visits - British Library-archived