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INTRODUCTION
Though people are rarely the reasonable men of classical legal thought, the law – and law school, enmeshed as it is in high and abstract theory – is overrun by the cold rigidity of logic. Viewed from this perspective, the rules of life might appear to take over its content, and existence becomes a bleak equation burdened by the seesaw of incentives and mazes of opportunity and transaction costs.
It can seem astounding that individuals survive law school with any of their creative faculties intact, but the Record managed to find not one, but three relatively unsung names among Harvard Law School’s artistic alumni. With their help, we aim to demonstrate that there is hope for a right brain perspective in, or upon exiting, the world of interminable text and code, of cases and statutes.
We asked each of our creative spirits to provide both samples of their work and insights on their journeys through and away from law. Over the next three pages, a visual artist, a nonfiction writer, and a novelist will share their experiences, and, we hope, lift the confidence of our readers that artistic lives and careers can be forged out of law school. Because even the most hardened doctrinalist ought to appreciate the need for an occasional intervention in the legal market to ensure the free flow of healthy self-expression. Call it a right brain stimulus package. – The Editors