Carroll Gardens author reveals ‘How Artists Work’
Brooklyn BookBeat: New book explores daily routines of 161 masterminds
Most of us know what made Beethoven and Charles Darwin famous. Most of us can recognize at least a couple of Andy Warhol’s works, and can probably name a Jane Austen novel. But most of us know very little about the daily routines of these inspiring figures. Brooklynite Mason Currey, in his new book “Daily Rituals: How Artists Work” (Knopf/Random House), reveals just that. Intrigued by the lifestyle patterns and choices that enabled these geniuses to produce such important work, Currey investigated the seemingly mundane details that comprised the lives of 161 novelists, painters, poets, playwrights, philosophers, scientists and mathematicians. His findings – while based upon “ordinary” habits – are fascinating.
Anthony Trollope forced himself to write three thousand words every morning (specifically 250 words every fifteen minutes for three hours) before going to his “day job” at the postal service. George Gershwin worked for twelve hours a day, starting late in the morning until midnight, and enjoyed composing while in a bathrobe and slippers. Currey profiles numerous others whose idiosyncrasies included such practices as taking timed naps, drinking numerous cups of coffee, and chewing on copious amounts of Corydrane tablets (which consist of amphetamine and aspirin).
Among those profiled – through interviews, letters, and diary entries – are Woody Allen, Pablo Picasso, Charles Dickens, and Karl Marx. Currey explores what his subjects ate, where they slept, and when they slept – divulging how their everyday practices empowered them to create work that made history.