Quoting Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison, The Art of Fiction No. 134, The Paris Review

Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular … Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.

— Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison, The Art of Fiction No. 134, The Paris Review (via)

12:59pm on September 6, 2024 from Plovdiv, Bulgaria.


uid: a7f499dd-3fe7-4a4e-844d-5d4c8279d148
creator: Silas Jelley
primary: references
secondary: quotes
available: 2024-09-06 12:59:07
created: 2024-09-06 12:59:07
updated: 2024-09-06 12:59:07
slug: 2024/09/06/125907
source: {'title': 'Toni Morrison, The Art of Fiction No. 134', 'creator': 'Toni Morrison', 'publication': 'The Paris Review', 'url': 'https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1888/the-art-of-fiction-no-134-toni-morrison', 'text': 'Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she\nmoved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there\nis something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer\nkeyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before\nbeginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I\nremembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still\ndark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And\nshe said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual\ncomprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular …\nWriters all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the\ncontact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious\nprocess. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the\nlight, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.', 'wordcount': 182, 'html': 'Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she\nmoved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there\nis something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer\nkeyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before\nbeginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I\nremembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still\ndark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And\nshe said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual\ncomprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular …\nWriters all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the\ncontact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious\nprocess. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the\nlight, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.\n'}
via: {'title': 'Japanese Kissa by Kissa, Norm Maclean, Toni Morrison, Akiya in Japan, Howtown, Bobby Fingers, and more', 'url': 'https://craigmod.com/roden/094/'}
filename: /home/silas/notes/2024/09/06/125907.md
title: Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison, The Art of Fiction No. 134, The Paris Review
interlinks: set()
backlinks: set()
tags: []
wordcount: 0