Issue #59: How to build your nest

Inspired by a Curtis Sittenfeld novel, this set-up creates a physical space for creativity, self-knowledge and alonement.

Positive solitude, or alonement, as I’ve termed it for the past four years, is a state of mind. You can practise it while reading on a crowded train; sitting on a bench in a crowded city park; or enjoying an occasional brunch-for-one at your local Gail’s Bakery. Perhaps it’s a much-yearned-for evening of tyranny over the remote while a partner or flatma…