Jan 2, 2012
23 notes

Maya Angelou

It begins at 5:30 in the morning.  After showering, she leaves the house, preferring to write somewhere else.  

“I keep a hotel room.  I have everything taken off the walls, and I bring in yellow pads, a Roget’s Thesaurus, a dictionary, a bible, a deck of cards, crossword puzzles and a bottle of sherry (red wine).  When I approach the door, it is with utter apprehension and anticipation.  It is frightening.  It is what I am. I sit at a little table and play solitaire. My grandmother used to say when I was young, ‘You know that’s not even on my littlest mind.’ And so I determined that the human being has a big mind and a little mind. The cards occupy my little mind so I can get to the big mind and hear the language.”

By two or three o’clock she packs up her things and returns home.  In the evening she often edits, whittling 10 or 12 pages (longhand) down to 3 or 4.  And the process continues the next day. 

(Source: books.google.com)

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    Writers’ Routines: Maya Angelou Two things here. a) For...munching while working. Almost...
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    have no idea what it’s doing back there most of...time, but I’m learning
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