The Questionnaire: Amy Ephron

By The QuestionnaireMarch 26, 2012

The Questionnaire: Amy Ephron

 


Do you succumb to nostalgia? 


No.


How do you feel about your Wikipedia entry?


Wish I was an admin.


Lunch with any three people who ever lived; who do you invite?


I would only want to have lunch with people who are alive.  Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Taylor Goldsmith, & Leonard Cohen.  I know that's four.  And it's a dicey idea -- it would either be intellectually exhilarating; not one of them would say a word; or fractious like inviting two directors to an eight person dinner (i.e. competitive and a bad idea). But in my fantasy, after dinner, they decide to have a jam session.  And one of them writes an original song.  I could go on.


Best piece of advice you ever received?


A fool trips over yesterday's mistakes. 


Have you ever been defeated by a genre?


Male or female? (Just kidding.)  Horror/comedy, which is actually two genres, but I think it was the producer.  


Which classic author would you like to see kicked out of the pantheon?


Faulkner


Are you okay with blood?


No. 


What country would you want to be exiled in?


America


What is your go-to shoe?


The one that goes with my outfit. 


Title of the book you're probably never going to write, but would kind of like to get around to?


You can't copyright a title.


What are you so afraid of?


That someone will steal my title. 


Sexy and dangerous, or brilliant and kind?


All four but rarely at the same time.



What character or story haunts you?


They are the same:  Lily Bart, "House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton


Does plot matter?


Yes.


Does age matter? 


I don't believe in rules.  


Do you prefer to write standing, or must you lie prone in a field of dandelions with a steno pad and a good pen? Or what?


I need a room with a view.  My desk is in the corner of the living room with a wall of glass to my left.  But most writing is done in your head - driving is good, the trick is remembering it.  


Who is the author you'd most like to impersonate online?


Is this a serious question?


Is there a literary community? 


I hope so.  I feel like I'm part of one, partly because of you.


 

LARB Contributor

The Questionnaire is, as her name suggests, a multifarious and mysterious interlocutor. Chameleon-like, her questions change their color as they approach each new interviewee.

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