More than 150 inspired—and inspiring—novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians on how they subtly maneuver the many (self-inflicted) obstacles and (self-imposed) daily rituals to get done the work they love to do.
Franz Kafka, frustrated with his living quarters and day job, wrote in a letter to Felice Bauer in 1912, “time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.”
Kafka is one of 161 minds who describe their daily rituals to get their work done, whether by waking early or staying up late; whether by self-medicating with doughnuts or bathing, drinking vast quantities of coffee, or taking long daily walks. Thomas Wolfe wrote standing up in the kitchen, the top of the refrigerator as his desk, dreamily fondling his “male configurations”.... …
More than 150 inspired—and inspiring—novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians on how they subtly maneuver the many (self-inflicted) obstacles and (self-imposed) daily rituals to get done the work they love to do.
Franz Kafka, frustrated with his living quarters and day job, wrote in a letter to Felice Bauer in 1912, “time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.”
Kafka is one of 161 minds who describe their daily rituals to get their work done, whether by waking early or staying up late; whether by self-medicating with doughnuts or bathing, drinking vast quantities of coffee, or taking long daily walks. Thomas Wolfe wrote standing up in the kitchen, the top of the refrigerator as his desk, dreamily fondling his “male configurations”.... Jean-Paul Sartre chewed on Corydrane tablets (a mix of amphetamine and aspirin), ingesting ten times the recommended dose each day ... Descartes liked to linger in bed, his mind wandering in sleep through woods, gardens, and enchanted palaces where he experienced “every pleasure imaginable.”
Here are: Anthony Trollope, who demanded of himself that each morning he write three thousand words (250 words every fifteen minutes for three hours) before going off to his job at the postal service, which he kept for thirty-three years during the writing of more than two dozen books ... Karl Marx ... Woody Allen ... Agatha Christie ... George Balanchine, who did most of his work while ironing ... Leo Tolstoy ... Charles Dickens ... Pablo Picasso ... George Gershwin, who, said his brother Ira, worked for twelve hours a day from late morning to midnight, composing at the piano in pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers....
Here also are the daily rituals of Charles Darwin, Andy Warhol, John Updike, Twyla Tharp, Benjamin Franklin, William Faulkner, Jane Austen, Anne Rice, and Igor Stravinsky (he was never able to compose unless he was sure no one could hear him and, when blocked, stood on his head to “clear the brain”).
I have finally cracked the secret to becoming a creative genius -
Take amphetamines whenever you want to be in an "artistic zone"
Smoke no less than 50 cigarettes a day
Take Valium to help you sleep for a couple of hours
Die in your 30's and be remembered ever after
Hurray to me!
original review: chrisbeckstrom.com/2018/05/31/11173/
A fascinating whirlwind tour of the daily schedules of a huge number of creative people. Some of the entries were so brief – a paragraph at times – it was difficult to catch my breath before moving onto the next. Reviewers on Goodreads felt the same way, and some suggested to read this book in small chunks instead of all the way through the way I did.
What I found most interesting were the common threads between these disparate individuals. Sure, there was huge variation (some people have extremely defined schedules, others just go with the flow) but a number of themes appeared in many of the chapters. These included struggles with substance abuse (alcohol, caffeine, amphetamines), under- or overeating, depression and anxiety (it’s heartening to know that even the most brilliant people struggle with these), treating their loved ones poorly (forcing their families into …
original review: chrisbeckstrom.com/2018/05/31/11173/
A fascinating whirlwind tour of the daily schedules of a huge number of creative people. Some of the entries were so brief – a paragraph at times – it was difficult to catch my breath before moving onto the next. Reviewers on Goodreads felt the same way, and some suggested to read this book in small chunks instead of all the way through the way I did.
What I found most interesting were the common threads between these disparate individuals. Sure, there was huge variation (some people have extremely defined schedules, others just go with the flow) but a number of themes appeared in many of the chapters. These included struggles with substance abuse (alcohol, caffeine, amphetamines), under- or overeating, depression and anxiety (it’s heartening to know that even the most brilliant people struggle with these), treating their loved ones poorly (forcing their families into rigid schedules, taking advantage of servants, demanding specific meals at particular times of the day), and a practice of working on creative projects even without the spark of inspiration. That last item is important to me; although I may be relatively prolific in my musical output, I generally only create music when I’m specifically inspired. I wonder how much more I could create if I created even without a spark of inspiration. Perhaps the spark would appear during the course of my creative activity.
Many of these artists also kept diaries and journals, using them as source material for their work, recording their various struggles, and in the end, providing an intimate look into their thoughts– extremely helpful as source material for a book like this.
The text was filled with hundreds of fantastic quotes. Two of my favorites:
Basically I enjoy everything: I am never bored.
– Matisse
Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.
– Chuck Close
The book was a very quick read. I highly recommend it to everybody, creative types, non-creative types, and everybody in between. Anybody pondering their own daily routine, wanting to be more productive, or just curious about some of history’s greatest minds would be well served to give this a read.
Interesting idea, and there's a lot to take in here. Others have noted that you don't really read this book are much as peruse it, and that's my experience: I read the first half dozen or so, then flipped around a bit.
While the info is interesting, it suffers from a big case of "so what?" A lot of people are covered, but none in depth, and there are no patterns.
If I had bought a copy I could see myself referring back to it as I come across new people ("I wonder if they're in there?").
Not a waste of time at all, but not the most enlightening read, either.
