John Adames’ Writing Space
The most interesting aspect of my writing space is a comfortable couch where I meditate before writing or revising my poems. I am a huge fan of Eckhart Tolle and every morning listen to one of his guided meditations that help to still the mind and allow for creative thoughts to come from a deeper place of pure being or what he calls an alert state of pure presence – a process for settling the mind similar to what Ted Hughes in Poetry in the Making says he acquired from fishing with a float:
a “mental exercise in concentration on a small point, while at the same time letting your imagination work freely to collect everything that might concern that still point.”
Finally, I love being surrounded by my library where I can refer again and again to see how my favourite poets have dealt with a compositional issue I may be struggling with in a particular poem.
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