Creative Writing | Culture & Community | Arts & Culture | Whalley/Edgewood/Beaver Hills | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative | Possible Futures
Samir Iydroose Photos.
A carpeted floor to sit on. Coffee and mechanical pencils. Index cards, paper, and a hunk of bread wrapped in cloth “Les Mis peasant style.” Those are the things that poet Dom Warshaw needs in order to get their poetry manuscript, called King, into shape for publication.
Warshaw, who lives in New Haven's Westville neighborhood, provided this environment—except for the bread, as they only brought enough for themself—in an early-morning writing group at Possible Futures book space on Edgewood Avenue on Tuesday. Warshaw and four other writers met a few minutes after 6:30, and quietly worked until 7:30. Then attendees shared some of their writing and socialized.
Warshaw said that their intention for the writing group stemmed from an individual need: finding time to write with a three-year-old at home and a full-time job as a clinical operations manager at an outpatient psychiatric facility. “I love having a baby but they are the enemies of art,” they said. “There is no solitude or spontaneity which are essential parts of my creative process.”
Warshaw has been working out of “basically broom closets” recently, as well as the screened-in porches of their friends, the Yale University Library, and a coffee shop that opens at 6 a.m. in Hamden. But the coffee shop was filled with cops and contractors, and therefore unappealing to them, they said.
They approached Lauren Anderson, the owner of Possible Futures, and the first word out of her mouth was “yes.” Warshaw said that “everywhere else has been so much worse,” compared to Possible Futures. Anderson agreed with Warshaw’s intent. “At home laundry and dishes and children and partners and pets are all staring at you, and pulling at your focus,” she said.
The writing group went according to Warshaw’s vision, and the turnout was how they imagined.
Dom Warshaw: From broom closets to the perfect book space. Samir Iydroose Photos.
“I would have been content if it was just me. Creating a physical space and time for my writing is enough,” they said. “If I can build an artistic community and talk to other poets in the last 30 minutes, I am open to that, though.”
They said that they had a nightmare the previous night about having a bunch of “chatty boys” and other people come to the writing group, and having to go around and shush them.
It was quiet, save for a soft playlist put on by Anderson, and people said they got work done. Sharon Glassburn heard about the event through a mailing list, and worked on writing letters.
“I am not a morning writer, and I don’t really have a rhythm in my schedule,” said Glassburn. “But, writing in the morning felt good. My brain was fresh, there were less distractions, and I like having a reason to get up and chill somewhere.”
People worked on a variety of mediums: Anderson and Glassburn used their computers, and Warshaw wrote on paper. “I think that art should have a physical presence, no offense to laptop users,” said Warshaw.
Anderson had to do the usual things of making sure people know where the restroom is and making coffee and corralling her dog Sugar to get to the bookstore, as well as getting up and out earlier than usual, but she said she also got time to work on an essay.
“Lots of people say, ‘Oh I wish I worked at a bookstore so I could read all day,’ but nobody here reads or writes all the time,” Anderson said. “There are so many things that go into a small business, and writing doesn’t pay the bills, so I am glad I got this time.”
“Writing is contagious, just like reading,” she added. “If you are around people who read more you will want to read more, and if you are around people who write more then you'll want to write more.”
This article comes from the ninth and current cohort of the Arts Council's Youth Arts Journalism Initiative (YAJI). From June 29 through August 21, YAJI students pitch, report, write and edit stories with Arts Paper Editor Lucy Gellman, Program Assistants Abiba Biao and Grayce Howe and Mentor Ruby Szekeres. Samir Iydroose is a rising junior at Hamden High School. There will be another early-morning writing group on Thursday, Jul. 9, and more meetings next week. For more events at Possible Futures, click here.