“There is a notion that creative people are absent-minded, reckless, heedless of social customs and obligations.”

The poet Mary Oliver continues: “It is, hopefully, true.” She argues that interruptions and schedules and errands are the enemies of creative work. I’ve been thinking a lot about the level of concentration that writing require. I’m working with writers this summer who, in many cases, haven’t taken classes for a number of years. It’s hard to concentrate. We are we interrupted by others and — worse yet — by ourselves, which is a “darker and more curious matter.” Yet, we must accept the challenge. Our work is important. Our goal is not to “help the world go around, but forward.”

Oliver, Mary. “Of Power and Time.” Upstream: Selected Essays.  Penguin Press, 2016, p. 29.