Q: What Is an Icarus and Why Did It Swim?

A: I get a lot of questions from folks who’ve never heard of Icarus. If you’re unfamiliar with Icarus, he is a fictional character from the Greek myth of “Icarus and Daedalus.” Here’s a quick recap of the story:

Once upon a time, Icarus and his wily Pops, Daedalus, flew out of prison on some DIY’d wings. If they flew too low the feathers would sog with ocean mist; if they flew high, the sun would melt the wax holding the wings together.

(Yeah, those wings sound super janky, I know. But this isn’t an engineering blog. This is a blog about how poetry is nearer to vital truth than history, just like Plato taught us.)

Anyway, flying either too low or too high meant a watery grave. Idealistic boy that he was, Icarus flirted with disaster, pushing the boundaries and soaring to new heights. Until he suffered what was likely the world’s worst belly flop and presumably drowned.

But what if Icarus didn’t drown when he crashed into the ocean?

What if Icarus swam?

Perhaps in his darkest hour, Icarus didn’t abandon hope. Perhaps he struggled and resisted and swam until he was ready to fly again.

If Icarus is a metaphor for humanity and our options are swim or drown, I vote swim. Icarus Swam plunges into the depths of literature (pun intended. Pun always intended here) to help us make the world a better place. So here’s to turning fiction’s wisdom into action. Here’s to buoying each other along the way. And cheers to the rebellious notion that we can swim. Just like Icarus.

Meet Team Icarus

Elizabeth Welsh

Hello, I’m Elizabeth Welsh and I’m a freelance copywriter for hire specializing in creative web content and blog posts. I started Icarus Swam in 2017 to think about life’s big questions and write about literature, philosophy, and my family’s occasionally puckish antics. In my free time, I enjoy teaching ballerinas to act, gardening & hydroponics, and hikes that could more accurately be called sauntering.

Relay Swimmers

(a.k.a. Guest Contributors—click the author’s name to read their articles.)

Ed. Lange

Until recently, a freelance director and playwright, Ed. Lange was the Associate Artistic Director of NYSTI for twenty-five years before retiring in 2006. As a playwright, he has written authorized adaptations of two mysteries by Mary Higgins Clark, Sherlock’s Secret Life (published by Samuel French) -- the audiobook of which won a national Audie Award; he wrote the book for the musical Magna Carta, and was commissioned to write the historical drama The Heart of Troy which was a finalist for the Audie Award.  Capital Repertory Theatre commissioned him to write an educational play produced for school groups:  Legends from the Iroquois Longhouse.  His most recently produced play, Sherlock’s Legacy also earned finalist honors for the Audie Award.

Lange’s writing has been published by several national publications including Sail, Soundings, and Dramatics (for which he was a regular contributing writer).  For a few years, he also wrote a monthly column “Guy Stuff” for the regional magazine, Capital Region Living.

A husband for 49 years and counting, a father, and a grandfather, Lange is also a long-time sailor, wood carver, toy maker, and is still trying to learn how to relax.