A writer's journey, continued

by Chris Wright

Q: And Margaret Thatcher, right?

A: That was a very Machiavellian move on my part, I can admit that now. It was an affair of convenience. I never did more than go down on her. We never actually had intercourse.

Q: You do a lot of work for a magazine called McSweeney's, which is published by a young man named Dave Eggers. For people who aren't familiar with Mr. Eggers's work, can you say a few words about him?

A: He seems like a smart young man with a lot of potential. I'm not entirely sure that his style of writing is what people are really interested in.

Q: Is there a professional rivalry between you?

A: I don't see any competition from him.

Q: He also had a book published recently -- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Is yours better than his?

A: Yes. Of course it's better. It's better-written, it has a more coherent structure, the language is far more beautiful and subtle. My book is the work of a writer at the top of his game, whereas his book is good, but it's still the work of an immature writer who's finding his way.

Q: I hear you've done some improv in Chicago.

A: I have.

Q: Can you do some for me? Can you do a tree?

A: I couldn't do a tree. [Pause] What, go like this? [Stretches arms out, spreads fingers]

Q: That's pretty good.

A: It's all right, but it's not my specialty.

Q: Does this sentence ring a bell? "The traditional business-school curriculum is heavily rooted in the social sciences, mixing economics, sociology, and political science."

[Extremely long pause]

Q: It's you, in Crain's Chicago Business magazine, 1994.

A: Did I write that? Oh God. How did you find that? God, that's embarrassing. I've done a lot of hack journalism in my time. Gotta make money. Read it again.

Q: "The traditional business-school curriculum is heavily rooted in the social sciences, mixing economics, sociology, and political science."

A: Well, I think that still holds true today.

Q: Now that you're a famous writer, having these kinds of things dredged up by snooping journalists, do you sometimes miss your privacy?

A: Yes. Yes, I do. There was some dude hiding in the back seat of my car just the other day. Masturbating. I don't know if he knew who I was, but it was pretty gross.

Q: Besides writing for Crain's Chicago Business, any other skeletons in Neal Pollack's closet?

A: I was the literary editor at Reader's Digest for a year, a very dark period. Also, Norman Podhoretz -- I had an affair with him that I'm not proud of.

Q: Can you do the tree thing again?

A: [No response]

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Chris Wright can be reached at cwright[a]phx.com.