School Library Journal

Where I Work: Sara Zarr

My office is the upstairs part of the top and bottom duplex we rent. We used to have a bipolar, alcoholic poet living above us—that’s not a professional diagnosis, just an informed guess. When she moved out, I told my landlord I wanted the space. There were cigarette burns on every inch of the carpet, and a generally sad vibe. But the landlord repainted and re-carpeted and aired it out and cleaned it up, and I moved in. I’d been renting a small space away from home, but it seemed like whenever I was there I wanted to be home, and when I was home I wanted to be there, and there was much toting of books back and forth.

Sometimes I like to stand in the doorway and imagine the work I’m going to do at my desk, which is easier than doing the work that I’m going to do. I feel so grateful to have my own place.

Through this window, I watch small squirrels travel on the phone line, between the trees and the roofs. One time there was a mourning dove blocking the pathway and for a minute they both froze. I think the dove ended up giving in.

I’ve got my shelves in the main part of the upstairs. Hanging above is a Barry Moser broadside of the Robert Hass poem “The Problem of Describing Trees,” signed by Hass. This room is 100 degrees in the summer, so I keep to my desk this time of year. The greatest gift my husband ever gave me is the portable A/C unit behind my chair, just outside the frame.

SLJ Resources on Sara Zarr:

• Lust for Life: First-time author Sara Zarr gives the skinny on her novel ‘Story of a Girl’
• Someday My Printz Will Come: How to Save a Life