--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My workspace is defined by books…" description: "\"My workspace is defined by books, ephemera, quiet and light. I don't have a computer, telephone or a fax machine there.\" — Maira Kalman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/maira-kalman-14477_book_my-workspace-is-defined-by-books-ephemer_2017481.jpg" --- # My workspace is defined by books, ephemera, quiet and… ![“My workspace is defined by books, ephemera, quiet and light. I don't have a computer, telephone or a fax machine there.” quote by Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/maira-kalman-14477_book_my-workspace-is-defined-by-books-ephemer_2017481.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/maira-kalman-14477_book_my-workspace-is-defined-by-books-ephemer_2017481.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b3/maira-kalman-14477_book_my-workspace-is-defined-by-books-ephemer_2017481.jpg) > “My workspace is defined by books, ephemera, quiet and light. I don't have a computer, telephone or a fax machine there.” [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A creative space thrives on tangible, quiet elements, free from digital distractions, fostering focus and imagination. **In simple terms:** Quiet, physical surroundings boost creativity. Key Takeaway Cultivate a calm, analog workspace. Themes creativity focus environment minimalism Mood contemplative inspired Type practical philosophical When to use this quote - writing - art - study - meditation Key Concepts design psychology productivity Questions to Reflect On - What analog items inspire you? - How can you reduce digital noise? A Different Perspective Digital tools can enhance productivity; balance is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Ephemera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemera/) [Ephemera Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemera-quiet-3635398/) [Fax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fax/) [Fax machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fax-machines/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Quiet Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-light-3184243/) [Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone/) [Telephones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephones/) [Workspace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workspace/) [Workspace Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workspace-defined-3635397/) ## Related quotes > [You have the nicest window, you know? None of the others can even compete. It´s not flashy like the others, or bleary – your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/you-have-the-nicest-window-you-know-none-of-the-others-can-even/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [I don't send messages, I'm not a fax machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-don-t-send-messages-i-m-not-a-fax-machine/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Since 1970, I've been using text and ephemera as well as photographs in order to tell stories of one kind or another. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/since-1970-i-ve-been-using-text-and-ephemera-as-well-as-photographs/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [I take it that a monograph of this sort belongs to the ephemera literature of science. The studied care which is warranted in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-n-lewis/i-take-it-that-a-monograph-of-this-sort-belongs-to-the-ephemera/) [Gilbert N. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-n-lewis/) > [You find a lot of junk when you're searching through lost and tossed photo ephemera, but every so often you'll find a gem, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/you-find-a-lot-of-junk-when-you-re-searching-through-lost-and-tossed/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [In all of my universe I have seen no law of nature, unchanging and inexorable. This universe presents only changing relationships which are sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/in-all-of-my-universe-i-have-seen-no-law-of-nature-unchanging-and/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I think that the collectible ephemera craze/awareness is probably driven by a reverse market, rebounding off the sense of everything being mass-produced. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-think-that-the-collectible-ephemera-craze-awareness-is-probably/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“I write our names on the page. What of it, if the paper will be burned? I write our names in the sand. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/i-write-our-names-on-the-page-what-of-it-if-the-paper-will-be-burned/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Events are the ephemera of history; they pass across its stage like fireflies, hardly glimpsed before they settle back into darkness and as often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-braudel/events-are-the-ephemera-of-history-they-pass-across-its-stage-like/) [Fernand Braudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-braudel/) > [I know the difference now between dedication and infatuation. That doesn't mean I don't still get an enormous kick out of infatuation;: the exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-know-the-difference-now-between-dedication-and-infatuation-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [ We \[Americans\] continue to be harangued by politicians about how Americans must fight this war because we're being attacked because we have freedoms and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/we-americans-continue-to-be-harangued-by-politicians-about-how/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [I've always spent money on books. I've always enjoyed handling books - the size, the format. I feel very strongly about original ephemera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/i-ve-always-spent-money-on-books-i-ve-always-enjoyed-handling-books/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [“It is not that I have no past. Rather, it continually fragments on the terrible and vivid ephemera of now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/it-is-not-that-i-have-no-past-rather-it-continually-fragments-on-the/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Sit here, so I may write you into a poem and make you eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/sit-here-so-i-may-write-you-into-a-poem-and-make-you-eternal/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“If today is not your day, then be happy for this day shall never return. And if today is your day, then be happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/if-today-is-not-your-day-then-be-happy-for-this-day-shall-never/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) ## More by Maira Kalman > [Go out and walk. That is the glory of life,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/go-out-and-walk-that-is-the-glory-of-life/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I don't listen to the news. I don't read the newspaper unless it's eccentric information - and the obituaries, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-don-t-listen-to-the-news-i-don-t-read-the-newspaper-unless-it-s/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I have been working for over 30 years and am always wondering about where I am and where I am going. It does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-have-been-working-for-over-30-years-and-am-always-wondering-about/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I still do have the little lunch bag that my mother made out of a towel and embroidered with my name on it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-still-do-have-the-little-lunch-bag-that-my-mother-made-out-of-a/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [My short attention span has allowed me a life of diversity in work and place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/my-short-attention-span-has-allowed-me-a-life-of-diversity-in-work/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [Every Monday morning is new hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/every-monday-morning-is-new-hope/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [We could speak about the meaning of life vis-a-vis non-consequential/deontological theories, apodictic transformation schemata, the incoherence of exemplification, metaphysical realism, Cartesian interactive dualism, revised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/we-could-speak-about-the-meaning-of-life-vis-a-vis-non-consequential/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [Wonderful things happen when your brain is empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/wonderful-things-happen-when-your-brain-is-empty/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I have many questions, but no patience to think them through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-have-many-questions-but-no-patience-to-think-them-through/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I'm in a complete state of panic before I begin something because I'm sure that it's going to be a complete disaster. I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-m-in-a-complete-state-of-panic-before-i-begin-something-because-i-m/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I like the brooding man - a brooding man with a sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-like-the-brooding-man-a-brooding-man-with-a-sense-of-humor/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [You'd have to be completely crazy not to be influenced by and take from other artists. It's completely impossible not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/you-d-have-to-be-completely-crazy-not-to-be-influenced-by-and-take/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [It is impossible to know what fate will bring. If you love to write or paint, you will keep on writing or painting, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/it-is-impossible-to-know-what-fate-will-bring-if-you-love-to-write-or/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [My dream is to walk around the world. A smallish backpack, all essentials neatly in place. A camera. A notebook. A traveling paint set.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/my-dream-is-to-walk-around-the-world-a-smallish-backpack-all/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [“The man stands behind the man. The seated man thinks, "For heaven's sake, stop standing behind me. You are driving me mad. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/the-man-stands-behind-the-man-the-seated-man-thinks-for-heaven-s-sake/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) [Explore all 46 Maira Kalman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My workspace is defined by books, ephemera, quiet and light. 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