This is a wonderful video, directed by Mark Gardner, about the desk and its place in our working lives. Massimo Vignelli, who also appeared in Helvetica, has a clean slate of a desk that has to be seen to be believed.
Writer Kurt Andersen says that for him, the desk has a sacred and central function akin to the hearth, the heart of the home, where he is very comfortable being alone. Yes. There is nothing in my house more truly mine than my desk, messy warts and all.
Check it out at vimeo, who won’t let me embed it for some reason.
And for images of the desks of and interviews with Canadian writers, check out desk space.
Thanks to Things Organized Neatly for the link to the video of “The Desk”.
Nathalie Foy 
My desk at work and home is always completely empty just like that. I always get the feeling people with cluttered desks are trying to look smart or busy.
Yes, that is exactly precisely why my desk gets cluttered. You’ve found me out!
And Einstein too! That big show off. He wouldn’t have half the reputation he has if he hadn’t had such a messy cluttered desk.
I’m a clean desk person also. : )
Wonderful! Do you know Jill Krementz’s The Writer’s Desk?
No. Thanks for the tip!
Finally got the time to watch the video. I loved it! I like my desk to be clean and clutter- free but it tends to go through stages as books pile up on one corner and papers to be filed on the other. Just about ready to clear it off. My desk at work is pretty empty, heck my entire cube at work is pretty sparse which appalls one of my coworkers whose entire office is piled high with papers and and knick-knacks. Thanks for the video link Nathalie!
I like my desk to be clutter-free, too, but like you it goes through cycles. I used to love a good purge after finishing a chapter of my thesis or after teaching a block of classes. There is something so rewarding in clearing out the clutter, a silver lining to its being there….