The Morning Muse

I've long maintained that my ideal time to write - or to think or to read or to ruminate - is the morning. During my first research leave, I tried to discipline myself where I would write e-mails and work on things that required my deepest attention right after my breakfast and while having my coffee, and then spend most of the afternoon reading. (I had to do a lot of reading for that project.) I will probably try something similar for this leave, even though I'm still very much easing my way in so far. There will be some challenges to that routine: the dog and her required morning jaunts is one (the dog walker took her before 10am today), and not (at least yet) being settled in one location. There's also the ease of distraction and procrastination too, of course! Along with my penchant for multi-tasking. Even as I write this, I also have an e-mail to a friend in Montreal I'm writing, and compiling a list in my head of others I need to reach out to. 

I'm also thinking of topics I want to cover with this blog. My research work of course will play a big role, but since I'm largely anonymous in this space, it will provide me some latitude to riff on some personal topics. I also want to bring back a feature from a previous blog: to chronicle some of the books or articles I'm reading and the music I'm listening to. It's a good way to look back on what my eyes and ears were enjoying. 

Reading: An article in the New Yorker on the English writer Rosemary Tonks, who was an acclaimed poet in the 1960s who not only "dropped out" of the literary scene in the 1970s when she became a fundamentalist Christian but who also actively sought to destroy her work. New Directions has recently published her novel The Bloater. I also have Jennifer Egan's new novel The Candy House on the go, although I only just cracked the spine.

Listening: I tried listening to Bjork's recent recording Fossora this morning, but my headspace wasn't there. I've switched my Spotify to a playlist of new and forthcoming ECM releases - that's usually a good means to find artists I've never heard of. 

Watching: Finished watching the John McEnroe documentary last night. It was mostly meh.