dual personalities

Like my dual personality I love my office — it contains most of my favorite books and many of my cherished belongings (at least the ones that can find no appropriate place at home). It’s not perfect and it’s certainly messy, but it’s my space. I recently rearranged portions of the wall art because I got a really cool poster for Christmas:

In a miniscule font, the text of “The Iliad” creates the images of fighting warriors. I love this. After teaching “the Iliad” I’ve become a huge fan — it’s simply wonderful and right up there with the Bible and Shakespeare (and probably Emerson, Whitman, and Melville, too!). I put the poster above my bulletin board as that really was the only open space large enough that would work, and here is how it looks:

Note my Assyrian relief, a long-ago gift from my parents, leaning up against the desk and bookcase. A closer view of the poster:

On my bulletin board I put up choice quotes and pictures that inspire me. From niece, Susie, I borrowed the Walt Whitman that she blogged about earlier this year here and I love to look at family photos and beautiful landscapes such as this magical English wood:

The dual personalities value the aesthetically pleasing work space — and we’d love to know how you make yours inspiring. How do you decorate your office?