Lifespan, longevity, and incidence of violent death in writers and poets

Abstract

This article provides information on the mean age of death (MAD) in 26679 persons professionally involved in literary work (22028 men and 4651 women) that were related to one of three categories: novelists, poets, and writer-poets. Women from any of the investigated categories reliably lived longer than men (p < 0.02). Analysis of the dynamics of MAD starting from the 15th century AD to the end of the 20th century showed that this parameter increased among novelists and writer-poets of both genders gradually but unevenly; however, they remained unchanged among poets and poetesses. Among men, 5.38% of novelists and 3.01% of writer-poets were long-livers (90+ years), whereas their share among women was 12.35 and 8.96%, respectively. The centenary border was surmounted by 1.62% of women novelists and 0.61% of poetesses, whereas among men it was surpassed by 0.31% of novelists and 0.49% of writer-poets. The frequency of violent deaths (murders, suicides, and accidents) also differed and was the highest among poets and least among novelists; writer-poets occupied the intermediate position by these indicators. The MAD histograms had a two-mode type that is typical for heterogeneous samples; the novelist sample was weakly heterogeneous, and the poet sample was very noticeably heterogeneous. It is assumed that MAD and longevity, as well as the frequency of violent death, are related to the processes associated with creativity.