Rooms of their own
A cool piece on (mostly British) writers' rooms. There's a lot of them, so be prepared to lose some precious writing time marveling at all those Post-Its in Will Self's office.
Certain patterns emerge, and a lot of the rooms look remarkably similar (and remarkably similar to those of writers I know). The big choice for color scheme: deep red or Bond paper white? Many talismanic objects, lots of childhood furniture co-opted as desk. Guiding spirits tend to be Irish – Joyce, Yeats (artwork by Jack Yeats is mentioned or displayed more than once), Beckett, Behan. Chairs — comfy, objects of torture, ergonomic — have an almost religious imnportance. A surprising number of people still don't know how to use a computer.
Most antic room: Beryl Bainbridge's. Most alarmingly tidy: Sarah Waters.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/writersrooms
Certain patterns emerge, and a lot of the rooms look remarkably similar (and remarkably similar to those of writers I know). The big choice for color scheme: deep red or Bond paper white? Many talismanic objects, lots of childhood furniture co-opted as desk. Guiding spirits tend to be Irish – Joyce, Yeats (artwork by Jack Yeats is mentioned or displayed more than once), Beckett, Behan. Chairs — comfy, objects of torture, ergonomic — have an almost religious imnportance. A surprising number of people still don't know how to use a computer.
Most antic room: Beryl Bainbridge's. Most alarmingly tidy: Sarah Waters.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/writersrooms