About Baby Edward by Jeremy Shipp

Baby Edward is the story of an ex-musician named Ed and his man-eating baby named Edward. But more than that, this is the story of suppressed power.

I believe that every being on this planet is blessed with inherent creative powers. Spiders create webs. Whales create songs. Yard gnomes create soups out of various magical root vegetables. In the natural world, the creative energies of living beings naturally collide in beautiful and complex ways, forming an environment of biodiversity and constant change. But, in the civilized world, the creative powers of human beings are often stifled and suppressed. Music and song and dance and magic and other outlets still exist, of course. But most humans no longer live in tribal systems where everyone's creative powers are nurtured and honored.

It seems to me that within civilization, art is often viewed hierarchically. Here, the myth exists that only outside authorities can judge the worth of someone's artistic expression. Here, artistic success is viewed as an accomplishment that only a select few can achieve. Our social systems, and the ideas that fuel our social systems, discourage many human beings from exploring their own creative powers. And that's heartbreaking.

And that's why I wrote Baby Edward.

The main character in the story, Ed, was once a musician. He sang to the world with an open heart, and in response, the world chewed him up and spat him out. He never achieved the sort of success he believed he needed, and so he gave up.

Of course, there are consequences for denying your own passion. When individuals don't utilize their creative powers in positive, healthy ways, the energy manifests itself unconsciously. This manifestation can take many forms. For instance, as a man-eating baby named Edward.

And the more you fight your monster, the stronger it becomes. So instead of struggling against your inner demons, I suggest feeding them. Nurturing them. Taming them.

After all, monsters need love too.

Read the first bit here: There's more than one way to kill a dream. My dream is a baby boy named Edward,[...]

art by magneticcrow; Take the quiz: what monster are you?