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Julie Powell |
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After spending a long, long time working as a temp, Julie Powell now writes in her pyjamas in Long Island City, Queens, where she shares a “loft” apartment with her husband Eric, their dog Robert, their cats Maxine, Lumi and Cooper, and their snake Zuzu Marlene.
Julie Powell won the 2006 Lulu Blooker Prize for Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen.
Julie & Julia is based on Julie Powell's blog The Julie/Julia Project. Read it here.
Will the printed word endure?
Well, "endure" is an awfully vague word. I don't have much faith people are going to endure that long. But yes - I think that there is a place for the written word that can't be made irrelevant, by other media. For one thing, it's low-tech, which means it will last...
Which newspaper do you read?
The New York Times, mostly. Sometimes the Village Voice, and the Austin Chronicle when I'm back in my home town. But I'm hopeless at keeping up with the news of the day. You know that study that showed that married couples are more knowledgeable than their single counterparts because somehow the couple sort of share information? Well, I keep all my current events files on my husband Eric's mental hard drive.
Who/What is your biggest influence?
Well, obviously for "Julie & Julia", Julia Child was a huge inspiration; not just for my cooking, but for the way I try to live my life. In transforming my blog, the Julie/Julia Project, I was inspired by Nicholson Baker's book, "U & I", about his one-sided literary relationship with John Updike. Overall I am influenced, more than I should be, by an "all-or-nothing" approach to life. Me and moderation don't mix.
What books are you reading at the moment?
I just finished "The Zombie Survival Handbook" by Max Brooks. It's pretty extraordinary, actually. Next, perhaps I'll start on David Foster Wallace's new book of essays - I find him fairly infuriating, but he graduated from the same school as I did, so I also have this sort of freshman admiration thing going. And his piece on lobsters that he did for Gourmet Magazine, which I gather is included in the book, was pretty fantastic.
What books did you read as a child?
Whatever was in front of me, pretty much, and the more adult the better. If it had sex or violence or adult situations, I loved it. My favourite authors spanned the gamut from VC Andrews to John Steinbeck. I also had a thing for fantasy and sci-fi - I liked Tolkien, and Lloyd Alexander, and - most of all! - Douglas Addams.
Which literary character would you most like to meet?
Oh, gosh. Well, your last question got me thinking about children's books, so I'll say Lyra and Will from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Because they seem like fascinating kids, at a fascinating age, but mostly because I'd like to see their daemons.
Which authors do you most admire?
Julia Child. Alice Munro. Charles Dickens. Does Joss Whedon count?
Where/When do you do most of your writing?
At the last possible moment. I'm one of those writers that would rather do anything than write. I generally loll about, "gestating", for as long as possible, then write frantically for 18 hours straight for as long as it takes. I mostly write in bed. How's that for a work ethic?
