Paul Blaney's Blog - Posts Tagged "environment"

In a rainy Lewes this morning, preparing to visit Rudyard Kipling's home and gardens, Bateman's. Later we'll be moving on to Berwick Church, Charleston, and to see Colum McCann read from his new book at the Charleston Literary Festival. But thinking about Kipling for now and other writers, the way they created a space in which to pursue their writing. Usually, this meant moving to the country after the first few novels, somewhere quiet, with a garden, and a writing room. Buying and then furnishing a home where they could keep the world's distractions at arm's length, or negotiate them on their own terms. Next week we'll walk to Virginia Woolf's last home, Monk House, and to Henry James's Lamb House, Rye. One thing about prolific writers, I'd say, is their single-mindedness, reflected in how, once they've achieved some success, they take control of their environment.