Writing Spaces: Leah Jane Esau

This week we asked Leah Jane Esau, author of “The Painting” in Issue 133, to share her writing space… and now we desperately want coffee.

“Writers told me for years that I needed routine, and only until recently have I been so disciplined. My routine is to write by hand every morning, first thing, just to get going. Then I walk to a café in Montréal called Café St. Henri, because the walking is good for thinking. (And, let’s be honest, the house is too hard. There are always dishes to do, or books to read. Distractions.) They roast their own coffee and it’s exceptional: probably one of the best places in Montréal. I’ve been working there every day for about three years, since they opened, and now I’m pretty good friends with the staff. Once there, I do a few hours of work and then work (for money) in the afternoons and evenings.

The three things I can’t write without are time, anger, and courage.”