Jessica Francis Kane

I have been writing in libraries for years. I love the quiet solidarity, the subtle peer pressure (everyone else is working!), the possibilities for distraction (the stacks!). Also, I am nearly crippled by nostalgia. I had an oak desk when I lived in England where I wrote most of my first published short stories. When we returned to the US, we left that desk behind and I was sad for weeks, so nostalgic I felt sick. I was sure I would never write another word, my ability to do so gone with the desk. I never want to feel that way again and so have become wary of the special writing place. I prefer to stay mobile, an itinerant writer, everything I need in a backpack. I do have a desk at home. Here it is…

…but this tends to be the place where I catch up on the business/social side of things: email, Twitter, etc., in the afternoons and evenings. It’s not very private. We live in a New York City apartment so every square inch serves a double or triple purpose. What you can’t tell from the picture is that this is the corner of both the living room and the dining room.

Very rarely I stay home in the mornings to write, but a regular day at the moment goes like this: My husband (a more natural early riser, bless him) gets up first and makes breakfast and lunches, then we all leave together about 8:00 and walk the children to school. First stop, the elementary school. Second stop, the preschool. Third stop, coffee. Fourth stop, the library. On a good morning, I’m in the reading room by 9:15. I have until 1:45, when I must leave to pick up the preschooler by 2:00. Four-and-a-half hours of writing time. Should be enough, and most days it is. I have many favorite spots in several libraries in a few different cities at this point, but here is my current haunt:

There’s my backpack and all-important coffee. I do not EAT, however, in the library. I leave that to the mannerless undergraduates. I prefer to follow the RULES and eat in the cafeteria downstairs, or, in nice weather, on a bench in Washington Square Park.

Sitting here, I can look to the right and see the park. On the 4th floor, I look right out into the trees, but if I need the extra inspiration, I can go to the 8th floor and see above the trees!

On every floor, I can look in one direction and see the outside, while in the other direction, the outside is reflected in the interior glass walls of the reading room. Reality, reflection, and straight ahead, the blank page.

Jessica Francis Kane is the author of a novel, THE REPORT (Graywolf), and a story collection, BENDING HEAVEN (Counterpoint). She is also a contributing writer for The Morning News.