WRITING AND COFFEE…
Arabica was my first. It”s closed now, but in the first five months that I lived in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the smoky coffee shop on the south side of Euclid Heights Boulevard near Coventry Road hardwired coffee and writing in my brain. Before Arabica, Pepsi and-until I quit my three-pack-a-day habit-Marlboros were my writing fuels of choice.
The shift was practical. I lived in a one- bedroom apartment across the street from Arabica – pronounced by locals as ara-BEE-ca – while I freelanced and looked for a job as an editor. I could get up in the morning, take a dozen steps and sit down at my desk to write. Or not. The not was the problem. Instead of writing there was breakfast. And the paper. And Morning Edition on NPR. And the dishes. And laundry. And…, well, writers understand. I needed to leave for work.
It was a head game, but a good one. My alarm went off, I got up. I showered, brushed my teeth, got dressed suitably for public viewing, grabbed the newspaper from the table in the foyer and walked across the street. At Arabica I ordered a black coffee and a raisin-buttermilk scone. I”d sit down at one of the tables near the front windows, eat, read the paper and then at 8:55 walk back across the street to not re-enter my apartment, but to step into my office.
This madness still serves. Now, with laptop on my back, coffee shops are the office. My muse picks the place depending upon her mood. Some days Calliope craves The Stone Oven, a former bank building that”s airy and open with sidewalk tables and the best pastries in town. Other days (and nights) she demands Phoenix Coffee, a darker, artier space with jazz playing in the background on Lee Road or its evil twin on West 25th Street where we enter an altered-state at 3 a.m. [Sadly, although the coffee shop is still there, it no longer stays open all night.] If she”s up for a sharper edge, I take her to Cyber Pete”s in Bedford where Pete loads the mug with so many shots of espresso that she wants to don cheap sunglasses, sit in the dark with the brightness cranked and make the keys blur.
Calliope and I have hit most of the coffee shops in the county over the years-our one prejudice is we don”t go to places where they expect you to use words like grande when ordering-and are always watching for new venues. For a long time it was Caribou, Arabica”s heir on Coventry where the refills are free was the place where they knew my name.
These days, however, it”s Phoenix on Lee née Mickey’s née Miklos where some of my friends think I spend way too much time. The owner has put together a package that is the best in Cleveland. Wonderful baristas, great coffee, free Internet wireless combine to make writing and coffee almost seamless.
When you stop in, tell them Jeff sent you (although I can”t promise anything more than a smile in response) and please be sure to say hello: I”m easy to spot, just look for the Have Coffee Will Write logo on the back of my laptop.
You write wonderfully and I can’t wait to read more of you.
Really looking forward to your next Socrates; wish it were weekly. Trying to locate Molly’s blog; misplaced the note she gave me.
The most significant work (that I’m aware of) happening in the realm of Greater Cleveland Education is occurring at a 1.5 year old Charter School, on 105th St. just n. of St. Clair. currently serving an elite non-elite student body of 6th and 7th graders. Check them out when you have 4 or 5 minutes: It’s the Entrepreneurship Preparatory Academy [!] or “E-Prep”–the Chief Entrepreneurial Office is John Zitzner and the Chief Educational Office is Marshall Emerson. The 3-minute video of him speaking about e-prep on their webpage brought to my eyes tears of joy.
Shalom David,
First, thank you for stopping in, for reading and, most importantly, for joining the conversation. Building community is all about the dialog.
Molly’s blog is After Enlightenment.
B’shalom,
Jeff
I have fond memories of spending hours in Arabica long before coffee culture became so pretentious! Arabica started closing their stores one by one as soon a Starbucks started moving into Cleveland. What a shame. I miss performing poetry there and listening to live bands. There was no internet back in the day and people actually used to interact with one another in coffee houses!
Shalom Melissa,
You’ll be pleased to know that Starbucks are closing in Cleveland and that Phoenix Coffee, with Arabica founder master roaster Carl Jones at the helm, is on the rise.
The next time you’re in Cleveland, let me buy you a cup.
B’shalom,
Jeff