Daily Rituals

Question 1

W.H. Auden

Answer 1

“A modern stoic knows that the surest way to discipline passion is to discipline time: decide what you want or ought to do during the day, then always do it at exactly the same moment every day, and passion will give you no trouble.”
”
Auden rose shortly after 6:00 A.M., made himself coffee, and settled down to work quickly, perhaps after taking a first pass at the crossword. His mind was sharpest from 7:00 until 11:30 A.M., and he rarely failed to take advantage of these hours. Auden usually resumed his work after lunch and continued into the late afternoon. Cocktail hour began at 6:30 sharp, with the poet mixing himself and any guests several strong vodka martinis. Then dinner was served, with copious amounts of wine, followed by more wine and conversation. Auden went to bed early, never later than 11:00 and, as he grew older, closer to 9:30.”

Question 2

Joyce Carol Oates

Answer 2

writes from 8 am to 1pm. Resumes work at 4pm–7pm.

“I write and I write and write, and rewrite, even if I retain only a single page from a full day’s work, it is a single page, and those pages add up.”