Tennessee Williams liked to drink gin and take uppers and throw himself into bed “on the kindness of strangers.” But first he went for a swim. No matter what country/guest house/hotel he stayed in throughout his adult life, he demanded it have a pool. He swam every morning, then wrote, then, well, you know.
Simone de Beauvoir had an enormous bicycle.
Stephen King likes to take long walks along Maine highways. (One day he was runover by a van. The man in the van had no license and was wrestling two rottweilers so couldn’t drive straight. The man died mysteriously a year later, ON STEPHEN KING’S BIRTHDAY! Moral: Do not fuck with Stephen King.)
Haruki Murakami is a marathoner.
How important is the physical body to the mind, to the artistic process? Do you exercise? If so, so what does it mean to your art?
Love the Stephen King comment. Much like we must exercise the muscles of our minds by reading, watching film, bad tv and viewing fine art in a museum or art gallery setting, our bodies are just as important. If for no other reason that we stop thinking about our writing, or characters, or plot for an hour. I love to play tennis, golf, basketball, and softball. Often it can clear your head, and you’ll find inspiration later when you are taking a shower or having a cold beverage. Great post.
Peace,
Richard
Neo-noir fiction
http://www.whatdoesnotkillme.wordpress.com
Do you know Kenneth Goldsmith’s _Fidget_?
On Bloomsday in 1997, Goldsmith tried to take note of as many of his body’s movements as possible using a recorder. It takes _Ulysses_–and the poetics of the everyday–to the utmost limit.
Here’s a excerpt that describes him taking a piss:
“Body turns. Walks. Left foot. Head raises. Walk. Forward. Forward. Forward. Bend at knees. Forward. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Stop. Left hand tucks at pubic area. Extracts testicles and penis using thumb and forefinger. Left hand grasps penis. Pelvis pushes on bladder, releasing urine. Stream emerges from within buttocks. Stomach and buttocks push outward. Stream of urine increases. Buttocks push.”
And there’s much, much more of it! One thing that I admire about Goldsmith is that he’s not afraid to take it to the extreme.
Will look into that. Seems pretty Sparling.