From Janouch’s Conversations with Kafka:
‘The only definite thing is suffering,’ [Kafka] said earnestly. ‘When do you write?’
I was surprised by the question, so I answered quickly:
‘In the evening, at night. During the day very rarely. I cannot write during the day.’
‘The day is a great enchantment.’
‘I am disturbed by the light, the factory, the houses, the windows over the way. Most of all by the light. The light distracts my attention.’
‘Perhaps it distracts it from the darkness within. It is good when the light overpowers one. If it were not for these horrible sleepless nights, I would never write at all. But they always recall me again to my own dark solitude.’
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