Libraries are popular writing havens for many of us. In theory, at least, they’re quiet and they’re calm, and no matter where you sit down, whether it’s at an open table or squatting in some forgotten stacks, you’re surrounded by books and, more importantly for some of us, the smell of books.
But is a library a good writing environment if it’s also your workplace?
In our latest Writers at Work at Work, a series in which we interview folks who write on the job, “Ivan Glonstein” tells us that it is–with a few caveats. Including guilt and shame.
"Ivan Glonstein"
WBN: Do you want us to use a pseudonym for you?
Ivan Glonstein: This first question already stumped me. In a sense, I want to say fuck no, I don’t care. I don’t care. But, everything has changed in the last half a year. I’m the sole breadwinner for a family of three, my wife and my daughter. Before, I could say, “Writing is so important to me that I’m willing to risk my job.” But now I suppose I shouldn’t be
[redacted]. I should be “Ivan Glonstein.”
WBN: Please describe your work setting: do you have privacy in which to write, or are you out in the open? An inspiring view of nature, or cubicle walls? Computer or longhand?
Ivan Glonstein: I’m out in the open. I have zero privacy, other than cubicle walls. I have a computer on which I work most of the time. Sometimes I print something out and hunch over it so that anybody giving the benefit of the doubt would think I was doing my job.I’m a librarian. I catalog books, which means I have to read and interpret all the numbers, symbols, and
phrases behind the title page, the librarian’s little playspace. I work in a library, which should be a writer’s temple. Only I’m just one of the altar boys.
WBN: Have you ever been caught writing at work? Please describe the incident.
Ivan Glonstein: People walk by and see me do it all the time. While writing this, about three already have. Just yesterday my supervisor walked by. Nobody’s ever said anything, though. This makes me feel like it’s no big deal and simultaneously like I’m giving fodder to a case for my termination.
Once my cube neighbor said something. He asked if I was working on writing, then he smiled at me, a “rhetorical question” kind of smile. I was embarrassed, but I admitted to it. He’s the kind of person who has made many confessions to me, so I don’t think he would rat me out.
Other than that, I don’t get any reaction. However, I’m considering asking whether there’s a rising resentment, a feeling that I’m not a “team player.”
In other news, our next In Short Fiction Workshop is right around the corner, on Saturday, August 22nd at the O. Henry Museum in sunny Austin, TX. Only $59 for three hours of workshopping and a lifetime of lessons. There
are only a few seats left, so snag yours today!
