The Writer's Desk [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Jill Krementz (Author), John Updike (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A dangerous book--deadly to keep on your desk as Jill Krementz's compelling photos of authors at work will lure you back again and again, leaving your own writing untended. This volume cost me two or three good pages as I peeked in on Eudora Welty and read about her anticipated six o'clock bourbon, glanced at books on Tennessee Williams's shelves and wondered if Veronica Chambers ever gets a stiff neck from writing on her laptop like that. The Writer's Desk is a perfect gift for readers, yes, but if you're a writer, well, you've been warned.

From School Library Journal

YA. Students of creative writing will find validation in this peek at the work spaces of famous writers and the spare but telling comments about their writing regimes. Writers of fiction and nonfiction, living and dead, mainly from the U.S. and Europe, form an eclectic mix. Some are familiar contemporary figures such a Amy Tan, Stephen King, and Joyce Carol Oates; others are from an older generation and include Archibald MacLeish, Dorothy West, and Ralph Ellison. Krementz has captured the 57 writers at work in evocative black-and-white photos. Each entry includes a short text by the subject describing how he or she creates or created. These routines are enlightening in their rich variety. Some writers follow strict schedules and allow no interruptions; others have no plan, often seemingly wasting time until the creative urge takes over. Every manner of dress (from pajamas to jacket and tie), position (from sitting on top of a desk to reclining with a lap-top in bed), and environment (from a cluttered office to the rustic cabin) is described. Readers' curiosity may well be piqued by these insightful tidbits and result in further research on an unfamiliar author. An introduction by John Updike includes an interesting description of how he uses his three desks as well as an unnecessary elaboration of the book's contents.?Jackie Gropman, Kings Park Library, Burke,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 110 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (December 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679450149
• ISBN-13: 978-0679450146
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #474,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great writers' browsing book . . ., November 28, 2000

By	Michael K. Smith (Gonzales, Louisiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Every writer looks around his workplace sometimes and wonders what other writers' desks look like. It's almost a prurient interest. Krementz, who is married to Kurt Vonnegut and is a leading photojournalist, has photographed more than 1,500 writers at work in the past thirty years. This splendid slender book brings together photos of fifty-three authors in their habitats, from Pablo Neruda and Archibald MacLeish to Stephen King and Edwidge Dandicat. Each photo is accompanied by each author's thoughts on desks, typewriters, and writing methods and times of day. This is the sort of book you'll pick up over and over again, examining the clutter on James Merrill's desk, or wondering if you should try writing in bed, like Walker Percy or Cathleen Schine. Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glimpse at Different Workspaces, January 1, 2003

By	Fuat C. Baran "The Biblioholic" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A wonderful book of black and white photos of writers in their habitats, some spartan, some cluttered. Accompanying each picture is a short blurb by the featured author. I only wish this book were longer and included more of my favorite authors.

John Updike's introduction is a must-read. He points out details that perhaps one might miss at first glance.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good but not enough. . ., June 15, 1998

By	[e-mail] "danielreaver" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

Yes, indeed, it is enthralling to see such writers at work or just sitting around getting ready to work or just sitting around but for the hefty price tag, the small number included here can only be considered stingy at best. Unfortunately, the text often adds little, if any, relevant commentary on the picture at hand. It is interesting though to see the domestic surroundings of so many famous people and I suppose that the voyeur in us receives some satisfaction. The photography itself is well done and captures the look of the writers as we've come to know them through other photos. Since there are only 58 subjects out of a possible 1500 that the author has taken, I was able to read the whole book and look at the photos in sixteen minutes. Before you buy, check it out in a library first to make sure you want to spend you hard earned money on such a minuscule offering.