Lauren Groff Recommends...

“My list of creativity-stimulators is long. It includes coffee, meditation, a giant hula-hoop, a standing desk, Salter, Duras, Eliot (George), Milton, Carson, Robinson, Hazzard, Gardam, Bishop, Munro, Arvo Pärt, Bach, Tristan und Isolde, baby-hugs, my gigantic compendium of Shakepeare’s plays,

dogs (when I have one), weeping, naps, and gratitude. But the motivator that surprises me with its potency and general infallibility is exercise, mostly of the long, slow, outdoor variety. After half an hour of semi-vigorous swimming or running, the paradox takes hold: The body falls away and you are left only with your mind, your characters, your words. The deeper I go into a project, the fitter I get. The converse is true, too: I wear my writing on my body. The flabbier I am, the more you can bet that I’m writing poorly, and the very best thing you can do for my work-in-progress is to buy me a pair of running shoes, dammit! As with everything else in life, energy in one area breeds energy in other areas.”
Lauren Groff, author of Arcadia (Hyperion, 2012)

Photo credit: Sarah McKune