What's on Your Desk? #4

Introducing Atreyee Gupta from Bespoke Traveler

Welcome to What’s on Your Desk? An idea that originated from reading an excerpt from American poet Louise Bogan’s autobiography, Journey Around My Room.

Each month-ish, I’ll invite a writer to talk about their workspace. And for this month, I’ve asked Atreyee, who I’ve known for many years through our writing. How long has it been, A?

For me, Bespoke Traveler is an incredibly rich loamy dive into the places A has been. She writes like a graceful ballerina dancer with attention to detail and a love of words.

Where are you writing from?

Hello Lani's Lovely Readers! It's such a treat to be a part of this series. My name is Atreyee, I'm a freelance writer and slow traveler, from Kolkata India.

Lately my home base has been in Paris, where I've been taking care of a friend. While in Paris, I was borrowing my friend's desk space and she loves a Scandinavian touch in her apartment, so everything is in shades of beige and pale blue. And she had so many candles that I loved lighting during the day for a picturesque effect. I also indulged in a lot of builder's tea at her house.

The Paris office…

Traveling around Europe is so fascinating given their extensive public transportation system and I've been taking advantage of it. I'm currently visiting family in London and while here, occupying a little space carved out for me by the folks to do work in. Despite the position next to a window, it's sort of a darkish corner of the room, but this play of light and dark is very inspiring to me. The black desk and white chair lean into this effect, as do the frames on the desk displaying vintage black-and-white magazine photos, all of which delights me. The hanging shelves are perfect for cramming in all the books I'll be reading during my time here. And I definitely appreciate that the desk is right next to the heater which is keeping me toasty in the cold winter days.

What does your writing routine look like?

I try to do an hour of writing in the early afternoon, a time when I feel most relaxed and imaginative. However, I don't put too much pressure on myself to be strict about this. Some days, if I get an idea first thing in the morning, I'll write then. Often, I've woken up in the middle of the night to jot stuff down. And other days I don't have either the time or the energy to do any writing. I'm a deep believer in letting fields lie fallow and awaiting inspiration.

What are you working on?

A book of poetry.

The London office

What's on your desk?

I like to keep a sparse desktop, but I still prefer using paper notebooks and planners, because things don't feel accomplished unless I've physically written them down. I also carry a box of pencils, pens, and markers wherever I go. There's usually a cup of tea getting cold and crisp crumbs as the day wears on.

Thank you, Atreyee!