moltz:

Hmm, that’s nice, but I’m not sure I can be truly productive until I see a photo of his workspace.

Also, anyone know where I can get the “worn skin of a lesser kudu”? Preferably rev. 2.0?

My friend, John, has made a funny productivity joke, and I wanted to acknowledge that. Good one, J. And be sure to finish reading about procrastination…when you get around to it, right?! HAhahahahahahaha.

Oh, we laughed.

Anyway.

I like this interview for a lot of reasons, but here’s a few that are not related to what I suspect John perceives as upmarket productivity pr0n:

  1. Fear. Look at that fucking place. Hemingway’s so masculine that it’s gay. I’ve never heard of someone with stronger bona fides for his gender going this far out of his way to seem…like a man. I think that’s fascinating.
  2. Fear. This is a man who deals in clarity, brevity, and certainties. He’s meticulous. Yet he’s also just as clearly terrified that if he even acknowledges this sub rosa process that he doesn’t understand, he’ll break the juju that keeps him writing. He’s like a caffeinated terrier whenever Plimpton tries to pin him down on how all this works. I think that’s fascinating.
  3. Fear. This guy works constantly and deliberately and with the dedication of someone tending a frail relative. He’s relentless and serious and I get the sense he’d die if he had to stop. Which is kind of what happened, I guess. I think that’s fascinating.

I am intrigued that he writes standing, yes, because it’s also something that’s helped me a lot. I’m also noting that, like a lot of other writers I admire, the space he’s set aside for putting actual words on a page is ridiculously modest.

But, what this and Hemingway on Writing, and everything else I’ve read about him says to me is much more substantive. Maybe, harrowing is the better word.

Because one of the toughest, most serious, and most substantial grown-up writers of the 20th century put a gun in his mouth and made it go boom. Can you read things like this and not obsess over the invisible threads that got him there? Not me, I regret to say. This man’s meticulous and broken fucking safari of a life fascinates me. Kudus notwithstanding.

Source: merlin