YOUR CITY AND YOU: THE FINE ART OF WRITING CHEMISTRY Do you have chemistry with the city you live in, or do you need to escape to write your novels, compose your operas, paint your still lives? For me its always been difficult to write wherever I live. I love Copenhagen, but Ive never written well in my own city. Portland is a little better, but I need to be by myself to do my best work. Ive always been at my best in Italy, especially in Veneto, Lucca, Perugia, and on the Amalfi coast. However, Rome and I dont jell. Its a great city but perhaps the ancient chaos does me in - the slaughter of Julius Cesar, the racist Lazio fans, the moronic mopeds - Roma is fantastic, but dammit we are through! Damascus, Syria? I actually went there three times to write at the Danish Institute in the middle of the suq. That was before the tragic war. I loved being there, but I dont write well in huge cities, even when they remind me of 1001 Nights. So what do I need to be at my best as a writer? Definitely a strong sense of happiness and freedom. Even if I exorcise old demons I have to be in a good space. I cant write on depressions, Chardonnay or any medication other than Tylenol. I want life to flow through me. I want to be head butted by archangels and any muse who happen to drop by. Nature does the trick ... but not too much of it either. If you put me in an isolated cabin in the mountains without WiFi, I would be miserable. I need emails from My Pale Beauty, the latest Arsenal gossip, and my Facebook-friends because you seriously inspire me, too.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 09:18:52 +0000
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