Gifts for Writers, Poets and Armchair Philosophers

Let’s face it:  creative friends are hard to buy for. Maybe it’s because we know that they intrinsically seek the deeper meaning in any gift, so we can’t get away with the soap-on-a-rope/socket wrench  combo that worked for our dads for twenty years.   While I don’t think of myself as super creative, I do love a well-thought-out gift and I’ve discovered that a lot of people have a secret desire to write hidden deep down in their heart.  Here are some fun gifts that will inspire and encourage the words people on your list.

A great writer writing about writing?  Yes.  It’s brilliant.

Vintage typewriter art, found all over the web right now – but this one is from this etsy site. 

Okay, maybe I haven’t read this.  And maybe I’m just tossing it out here because it got great reviews and I’m hoping my husband will read my blog and buy it for me.  I suppose all those things are possible, but let’s believe the best about me, shall we?

Oh, dear.  This pen by Visconti makes my heart beat fast.  It’s from the Van Gogh line, can you tell?  So beautiful.  Even though I do most all of my writing on New Blackie,  lovely pens inspire to me to write like very little else.  The downside to this pen is that the price tag will also leave you breathless.  In fact, it costs almost as much as my laptop and it’s a lot easier to lose in my purse.  However, the market is flooded with beautiful and affordable writing instruments that lift us out of workday Bic mode and into something that feels a little bit grand…a little bit fine.

Nothing says “tortured artist” like the moleskin journal.  Used by Hemingway, Van Gogh and Picasso, you can’t go wrong giving these babies as a gift.  The official Moleskin site has some beautiful and affordable new products.  I love this set for writers.

I know I’ve recommended this book before, but – for any creative undertaking – it really is the best one I’ve read on fighting through to the finish line.

This is what I got from my daughter, Victoria, for my birthday this year and it’s already dear to me (thanks,Tor!)  I love the stack of pens and I love, love, love this quote from Ben Franklin:  Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.   You can find it here.

Short on cash?  Give the gift of affirmation:  a packet of number #2 pencils and a fresh stack of notebook paper wrapped with a bow and the Ben quote would make me as happy as the Van Gogh and Moleskins.  Just knowing someone knows your passion and believes in it is worth all the words in the world.

Be inspiring,

Bo