📝 Barack Obama’s Writing Routine

Welcome to Famous Writing Routines, where we explore the daily habits, writing process, and work routines of some of the most renowned authors throughout history.

Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017, and is the author of three memoirs, Dreams from My Father, The Audacity of Hope and A Promised Land.

Before Barack Obama was voted the most powerful person in the world, he was a man of words. Growing up as a teenager in Hawaii, he devoured the works of African-American writers like James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Later on, he would expand his reading list, from classics by Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, Cervantes to books on philosophy, poetry, history, biographies, memoirs, as well as novels like Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano and The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing.

In an interview with The New York Times, Obama recounted that he would “hear about a book, and then I’d read that book, and if it referenced another book, I’d track that one down.” Oftentimes though, the future president had to settle with “what was in the used-book bin because I was on a pretty tight budget.”

In 1988, after enrolling in Harvard Law School, Obama was voted the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, which subsequently led to national media attention and a publishing contract. Although his first book initially started out as a manuscript on race relations, it evolved into a personal memoir.

During the writing process of the book, Obama struggled to finish and had to go to Bali for several months with Michelle “to find a peaceful sanctuary where there were no phones,” according to his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. The retreat worked. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance was published on July 18, 1995.

Over two decades later, as Obama was getting ready to leave the Oval Office, and with two more books under his belt – his second memoir The Audacity of Hope, and the children’s book Of Thee I Sing – the 44th president started working on his next memoir, A Promised Land.

***

To read the rest of Barack Obama’s writing routine, become a member today!

📚 Unlock the Writing Routines of Literary Legends 📚

Ever wondered about the daily rituals that powered Hemingway's prose or Maya Angelou's verses? With Famous Writing Routines Premium, for just $50 USD/year, delve into the intimate writing habits of legends like Neil Gaiman and Gillian Flynn. Get unparalleled insights, from Stephen King's rituals to the inspirations behind Kazuo Ishiguro's award-winning tales. Join us, and let their routines pave your path to literary success. Secure your premium access today!