As a writer I love the freedom of isolation, and “Nighthawks” by American artist Edward Hopper has always been visual metaphor for my working life. The people in the painting are in the same diner, but each living in a personal universe. It could be a painting of my novelist’s mind, and every time I look at it, I’m profoundly moved. Hopper had a genius for painting the power of being alone, but that doesn’t mean he was painting loneliness. Extraordinary energy can be released by solitude, like splitting an atom, but it’s a quiet fire best felt when you’re by yourself. Please let me know if you’ve experienced the freedom of isolation in the same way.
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