Wednesday, September 2, 2009

where some famous authors lived

Monk's House in Sussex, England, was a refuge to Virginia Woolf who did so much of her writing there: "emotion recollected in tranquility," to paraphrase Wordsworth. It was therefore all the more shocking that it was from this house that she walked to the River Ouse to drown. A feminist forerunner, she said in her essay A Room of One's Own, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

William Butler Yeats lived his middle years in Thoor Ballylee near Galway, one of those square stone towers one sees all over Ireland. It was here that he and his wife Georgie developed automatic writing for inspiration. It was also here that he wrote The Wild Swans at Coole, The Tower and The Winding Stair. A few of my favorite lines from The Song of Wandering Aengus:
"And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun."


Karen Blixen, aka Isak Dinesen, had to leave her intoxicating life in Africa at its apogee to return to Denmark. Like Woolf, she also spent her remaining years writing "emotion recollected in tranquility," notably Out of Africa and Babette's Feast. Raymond Carver quoted her as saying in Writers at Work, "I write a little every day, without hope and without despair."


Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa was one of a dying breed of Italian aristocracy: he was a prince under King Victor Emmanuel III living in a magnificent palace and was deeply embittered when this world collapsed with World War II and the bombing of his home. He re-created something of his old lifestyle with the purchase of a palace in the Via Butera in Palermo, Sicily. He described the old world in The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) which was made into a movie.



Jean Cocteau lived the last years of his life here in Milly-la-Foret near Fontainebleau in France. A pastiche of photos of friends--Jean Marais, Coco Chanel, Picasso, Edith Piaf--and collectibles line this wall draped in leopard print. A suurealist and forerunner of the New Wave movement, Cocteau wrote the novel Les Enfants terribles and the original screenplays for Beauty and the Beast and Orpheus. He also wrote for Diaghilev and the Ballets russes.

Photos by Erica Lennard

15 comments:

  1. Hi Margaret

    this is an interesting topic...with varied homes and thoughtful asides...
    Did karen Blixen write Babette's Feast that the movie was based on?

    Happy days

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  2. What a beautiful post! I would be happy to relax, read and create in any of these rooms, I think.

    Hugs,
    Angela

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  3. I love Virginia Woolf's room best. The colors are amazing. I think I have a huge book called "Writer's in Residence" or something like that and it, too, has writer's homes and where they wrote. I love being a voyeur into their writing spaces. Thank you, Margaret, for sharing this! Blessings!

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  4. Very informative and well done Margaret. I am partial to the William Butler Yeats window to watch out and seek inspiration. Thanks for sharing it was very enjoyable.

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  5. Hi Margaret !
    J'adore ces intérieurs très chaleureux, emplis d'histoire et de conversations ! Les personnes dont tu parles et qui ont vécu dans ces intérieurs ont fini par faire ressembler leur décor à leur personnalité !
    Très intéressant ! J'adore ton article !
    See you ! Bizzz...!
    A bientôt !...;-)

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  6. If I had to choose one of the abodes I would live at Jean Cocteau's. I like a touch of leopard.

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  7. I prefered Karen Blixens room. The light through the windows, the colours on the wall and curtains. Lovely

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  8. The rooms of William Butler Yeats and Karen Blixen both speak to me...the simplicity and beautiful window of one and the warmth and lighting of the other...I have a thing for windows.

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  9. Hi Delwyn! Yes, Isak Dinesen (I guess that's how we'd call her) wrote the story that the movie Babette's Feast was based on (it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, the first Danish film to win). She also wrote the story behind Out of Africa which won the award for Best Picture. Do you remember the incredible tortoise soup at the Feast? xx
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    Hi Angela! They're all so inviting, aren't they? I'm afraid I'd soon have clutter going here and there... I love the birth of your butterfly, by the way... xx
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    Hi Marion! Oh, I think that room is incredible, too! The greens and teals and touch of pink. I have a book called Illustrated Letters, Artists and Writers Correspond, which I would like to share in some way. xx
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    Hi Blues! I love the simplicity of that space as well as facing that long window. It's hard to keep things so pristine; I tend to keep bringing in more and more stuff. I think Yeats thrived in that unadorned tower.
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    Hi Jeff! Tu as raison--c'est tres intime de connaitre quelqu'un et ensuite voir comment il vit. une sorte de voyeurism. J'aime cette expression, "Si ces murailles pourraient parler." A presto!
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    Hi Sharon! Perfect! You would be one of the leopards!
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    Hi Gry! You must have a little of that Danish taste, being a neighbor. You're right, it is a light and airy room. I love that chair and old Remington typewriter, and do you see in the windowsill a picture of Denys Finch-Hatton, the love of her life who was killed in a plane crash? She was an interesting woman. xx
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    Hi Wanda! Yes, the simplicity of Yeat's room with the long windows is colder than Dinesen's with the lighting and cream-colored walls and drapes, but they both have air and light. xx

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  10. Fascinating to see the havens that housed great creativity. Being a painter rather than a writer myself, I need a place that I can work without being afraid to make a mess.

    One of my all-time favourite films is "The Hours." I love all the Virginia Woolf parts the best.

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  11. What absolutely wonderful interiors. I would love to own any of them!
    You reminded me that Karen Blixen is responsible for Babette's Feast, great book, great film.
    Where did you holiday? In Europe?

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  12. Hi Lynne! It's a dilemma, isn't it? I want a studio where I can have all my materials and resources around me(which I've created downstairs), but in order to tap into the creative process, I need a serene, clutter-free environment. I loved The Hours, too! In some way, all the women characters had the soul and dimension of Woolf, don't you think? xx
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    Hi Friko! I would love to visit those homes, but actually I scanned the photos taken by Erica Lennard from a book. My vacation was more mundane but very enjoyable: we took a place at the New Jersey shore where our children joined us from time to time. But now I feel like you: autumn is sneaking up on us! xx

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  13. Hi Margaret!!! Long time no "see"!! This is a great post, I love seeing the writer's workspaces. And I totally agree that you need a room of your own to be creative!

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  14. hello Margaret...
    j'espere que tu vas bien...:o)
    Alors ecoutes j'aime beaucoup le deuxieme salon pour la sobriété des meubles et le style assez denudé....
    et j'aime aussi le dernier pour le coté artiste mais soigné avec de jolis details....
    mais j'aime bien le premier ....pour les couleurs....
    kisses... have a great weekend....and thanks for your visit and your excellent comment...i love to much....:o))

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  15. Hi Rain! Glad you stopped by! Maybe you'll get an idea for your new abode! I wish I had the nerve to have a green room like Virginia Woolf! But a spare, simple space really does help you concentrate. xx
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    Salut Clo~ Je suis ravie d'entendre de toi. Comme toi, j'aime celle qui est simple et restreinte, mais il est tres facile pour moi de faire le meli-melo! ce qui peut etre agreable aussi. . Oui, j'adore aussi les couleurs de la premiere; je ne sais pas si j'ose le faire! Dis, Clo, c'etait bien toi dans la serie figure? J'aime beaucoup sa simplicite, noir-et-blanc, sans maquillage, douce, cheveux epais, lustres. Very beautiful and different. A tout a l'heure, xx

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