No pen, no ink, no table, no room, no time, no quiet, no inclination.
Source: Letter, 7 Dec 1906, to his brother; in Letters of James Joyce, vol. 2, 1966.
-- James Joyce, (Feb 2 1882-1941), Irish novelist, poet, playwright; He was best known for his novels of subtle, frank portraits of human nature; wrote Ulysses, 1922; Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, 1914.