On Finding Inspiration in Unexpected Places....

So, let's just say that I've been a little lacking in inspiration lately, and I needed a healthy dose in order to complete a grant application for a few weeks at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson this summer to dive in to the Paul Strand archives for my Maine/Moderns project about modernists in Georgetown, Maine. The problem with my office at school [besides the chilly temperature] is that I am surrounded by coursework--things to read and grade, lectures to write, recommendation letters to do, knocks at the door, department business ad infinitum. The problem with home is that I don't have a good work space set up yet [coming soon to a formal living room=Libby's office] and I'm easily distracted by home improvement projects and my extensive tivo list. So, where to write [or how to find yet more ways to make excuses while not writing]?

On my way home from school tonight, ca. 7:30pm, I was hungry and decided to stop at the Gorham House of Pizza for a sub. I brought in my bag, took out my laptop while I was waiting for dinner, and, while the TV was blaring ESPN's "Sportscenter" and the radio was playing any variety of John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, etc. I started typing. 90 minutes, 2 diet cokes, and an eggplant parmesan sub later, the CCP application was complete--footnotes and all. I wasn't expecting to work there, but in a laminate booth, free from MY distractions, and free from wireless internet, I got inspired, and then just went with it. I'll proofread and send it off tomorrow--a healthy 10 days before the deadline.

So, maybe this is why I always see people on laptops in coffee houses. Maybe I should have learned some more lessons from the Kertesz exhibit "On Reading" [see earlier post]. I need to be caught writing. Not grading, not reading, but writing. I'm going to work on being caught more often. And I'm going to seek out some new laminate booths. It doesn't have to be a quiet place, but it has to be free from my constant distractions and/or reminders thereof. And that, my friends, is a lesson I've been needing to figure out for quite some time now. Free from excuses, it's time to start writing again. We'll see what else becomes clear after tomorrow's yoga class.