March 03, 2005

In the Bathtub

"[Dalton] Trumbo did most of his writing in the bath, on a tray suspended over the tub. According to his wife, he'd spend days in the tub, writing and soaking -- and smoking...."

Go ahead and read the rest of the article here if you're into Hollywood blacklist history.

Mainly, though, I'm wondering what other great works have been incubated by bathtubs. OK, there's Archimedes and Douglas Adams -- but anyone else?

Posted by Martha Bridegam at March 3, 2005 08:37 PM
Comments

'Ere talking about Hollywood blacklists, Scorsese did an interview in the Sunday Times saying that the two enemies of celluloid art in America are the religious Right and the Politically Correct Left. Goodfella- and his mother's meatball recipe rocks an all.

Posted by: Airbrushed By The Commissars at March 4, 2005 01:14 AM

Actually, what came to mind was David's The Death of Marat.

Posted by: Bobby Farouk at March 4, 2005 04:49 AM

Churchill is supposed to have dictated many of his speeches in the bath.

Posted by: Alan Allport at March 4, 2005 04:50 AM

Marat? Cute, but that one doesn't quite count, does it? I mean, it's Marat, not the painter, who's in the tub, and Marat isn't exactly incubating new bursts of creativity at the moment pictured. Far as we know, anyhow.

Hmmmm, bathtubs....

There's that dimly attributed line about Orwell sitting in the bathtub thinking of bad things to do to his enemies but I like to think that's either his joke or somebody else's.

Posted by: Martha Bridegam at March 4, 2005 10:51 AM

Not quite the same thing, but I've always liked the image of Arthur Balfour "making a raft with his sponge", according to his niece Blanche Dugdale, so that he could float a French novel on it when he bathed.

Posted by: Alan Allport at March 4, 2005 11:26 AM

Marat?

I'm just saying when I think of someone writing in the bathtub I think of that painting.

Posted by: Bobby Farouk at March 4, 2005 12:03 PM

Well don't get all cut up about it - yuck yuck yuck.

Posted by: Alan Allport at March 4, 2005 04:48 PM

I read somewhere that Agatha Christie found that eating apples in the bath induced creative plot thinking.

Posted by: airbushed by the commissars at March 5, 2005 08:39 AM

Alan: I can't go on much longer being your straight man for free. You'll have to call my agent.

Posted by: Bobby Farouk at March 5, 2005 09:43 AM

I read somewhere that Agatha Christie found that eating apples in the bath induced creative plot thinking.

I guess smoking works better, then.

Posted by: Martha Bridegam at March 5, 2005 11:09 AM