Writers spent a month writing and reading in glass boxes. They read faster, wrote more

Lucy Christopher, a new mother, had been trying to return to her work-in-progress for several months, but could find neither time, headspace, nor validation that writing was worth the time away from her child.

Why should she spend time writing when it would likely bring few financial rewards? Anyway, could she still write? Perhaps having a baby had permanently lessened her ability to think creatively for sustained periods?

She had the idea of using public installation as a method to investigate and inspire her creative process. Perhaps writing in a public glass box, something a little like performance art, could be a way to reclaim the role of writer?

Throughout the month of June, we were among 11 writers and 30 readers who spent time sitting in glass boxes in a public square in Hobart for the WritersBLOCK / ReadersBLOCK project. The project was part of the Hobart City Council’s InsideOUT initiative, in which boxes containing visual art are displayed around the city.

People were able to watch local writers working in real time, and readers consuming books by Tasmanian authors. Writers and readers became creative artefacts, allowing observers to witness the humans at the centre of the struggling literary industry.

Over 30 books were read and more than 30,000 words were written....

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