Eight Writers and the Walks That Inspired Them
April 22, 2013 4:30 AM Subscribe
Virginia Woolf had a country house in Rodmell. She liked to walk in the area, especially over to visit the other artists at Charleston house. I've done the walk from Rodmell to Charleston house. It's a pretty walk. You also walk by the river where Virginia Woolf drowned herself.
posted by vacapinta at 5:12 AM on April 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by vacapinta at 5:12 AM on April 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
When I used to write a lot, walking was my greatest inspiration. The words just start to flow in your head to the rhythm of your feet.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:21 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:21 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Those drawings are wonderful.
posted by Corduroy at 5:38 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Corduroy at 5:38 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Wallace Stevens reputedly composed many of his poems walking to and from his job as head of the Legal Affairs division of Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford. That's probably as poetic as Hartford has ever been.
posted by Kinbote at 6:22 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Kinbote at 6:22 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
As a kid everyone thought I was crazy because instead of playing with the other children I would walk zig-zags across the playground writing novels in my little head. People still think I'm crazy, I guess, because whenever I walk to the subway I'm still writing my novel and I don't really pay attention to anything external (including my own facial expressions, which probably contort oddly whenever I reach a bit of dialogue). This has greatly reassured me – I may not be as great a writer as any of those mentioned, but at least I know I've got some of the same crazy in me!
posted by Mooseli at 6:56 AM on April 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Mooseli at 6:56 AM on April 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
When I used to write a lot, walking was my greatest inspiration. The words just start to flow in your head to the rhythm of your feet.
Yes, but how do you write them down? I get in writing mode by walking and also by driving but it's really hard to remember the Perfect Words when I get back to a space with a pen or phone. I've lost more scenes and dialogue through walking than through my backspace key.
posted by librarylis at 8:18 AM on April 22, 2013
Yes, but how do you write them down? I get in writing mode by walking and also by driving but it's really hard to remember the Perfect Words when I get back to a space with a pen or phone. I've lost more scenes and dialogue through walking than through my backspace key.
posted by librarylis at 8:18 AM on April 22, 2013
Many of your iPods and such have a voice recording option so long as you're okay with being that crazy person muttering to themselves in Inwood Park.
posted by The Whelk at 8:55 AM on April 22, 2013
posted by The Whelk at 8:55 AM on April 22, 2013
Kinbote: "Wallace Stevens reputedly composed many of his poems walking to and from his job as head of the Legal Affairs division of Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford. That's probably as poetic as Hartford has ever been."
Eponysteripale!
posted by chavenet at 9:53 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Eponysteripale!
posted by chavenet at 9:53 AM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Wallace Stevens reputedly composed many of his poems walking to and from his job as head of the Legal Affairs division of Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford. That's probably as poetic as Hartford has ever been.
Hartford has commemorated this nicely.
(And it was The Hartford, not Aetna.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:38 AM on April 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Hartford has commemorated this nicely.
(And it was The Hartford, not Aetna.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:38 AM on April 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Wallace Stevens reputedly composed many of his poems walking to and from his job as head of the Legal Affairs division of Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford. That's probably as poetic as Hartford has ever been.
Completely unverified paraphrase anecdote once told to me by my brother:
Stevens once complained to a sympathetic listener that "No one at the office appreciates my artistic work..." This sympathetic listener later met one of Stevens' professional colleagues, and asked: "Did you know that you have a great poet working among you who goes unappreciated?" The colleague replied: "Wallace is a hack at his job. We only keep him on because of his great poetry reputation."
posted by ovvl at 4:36 PM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Completely unverified paraphrase anecdote once told to me by my brother:
Stevens once complained to a sympathetic listener that "No one at the office appreciates my artistic work..." This sympathetic listener later met one of Stevens' professional colleagues, and asked: "Did you know that you have a great poet working among you who goes unappreciated?" The colleague replied: "Wallace is a hack at his job. We only keep him on because of his great poetry reputation."
posted by ovvl at 4:36 PM on April 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Many of your iPods and such have a voice recording option so long as you're okay with being that crazy person muttering to themselves in Inwood Park.
Or someone just chatting on a phone headset. This technology started to become common in the years when I lived near an emotional health facility.
Speaking of iPods, Steve Jobs was a big fan peripatetics. When he was discussing complex issues with his colleagues, he often suggested a nice long walk in the park to hash it out.
posted by ovvl at 4:55 PM on April 22, 2013
Or someone just chatting on a phone headset. This technology started to become common in the years when I lived near an emotional health facility.
Speaking of iPods, Steve Jobs was a big fan peripatetics. When he was discussing complex issues with his colleagues, he often suggested a nice long walk in the park to hash it out.
posted by ovvl at 4:55 PM on April 22, 2013
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posted by Segundus at 4:51 AM on April 22, 2013