E-Mail This Article to a Friend BIBLIOFILE A loser’s life BY CHRIS WRIGHT

When Will Leitch started writing his online column, "Life As a Loser," in 1999, he did not have a huge fan base. "My editor and maybe a couple of people I worked with read it," he says, "if that." A funny, poignant chronicle of the day-to-day pratfalls suffered by Leitch, the work has since gained a considerably larger following. In March, Leitch wrote his 200th and final installment of "Life As a Loser." Fans, though, can take comfort in the fact that his work has been compiled in a book, also called Life As a Loser (Arriviste Press, 2004). Leitch will be in town this week to read from his book. He spoke with the Phoenix from his home in New York.

Q: Are you really a loser?

A: I think we’re all losers, in that we’re all plagued by insecurities. I’m 28, and on one hand I’m like, "Hey! I got a book!" On the other hand, I don’t know any 28-year-old people who have everything they want. So it’s less a matter of "I’m a loser! Put a sticker on my back!" This is not the life of a guy who gets wedgies. But sometimes I think, "Are things gonna be okay for me? Am I gonna be all right?" I think everyone feels that.

Q: Have you been surprised by the response your column’s received?

A: I’m just a schmuck, a nobody. I sit at a desk all day. I go home and I drink. At the end of the week I write one of these things. It’s a matter of finding things that appeal to people, so they say, "Hey, I know exactly what that feels like." That makes me feel I’ve done something right.

Q: You’re doing media interviews, book readings. Is that weird?

A: It’s been really fun, really exciting. AP wrote about me, for crying out loud. My hometown [Mattoon, Illinois] paper ran it as a Saturday feature. It actually ran in a Kuwaiti newspaper. "Hey, this guy has problems. I have problems, too — I’m in Kuwait!" It’s amazing.

Q: Do you get recognized in the street. Do people stop you and say, "You’re that loser guy!"?

A: Not on the street. In New York, no one stops you on the street unless they’re going to rob you. I was at a party a few weeks ago, and someone came up and said, "How’s your dad doing? I know he’s working on his garage." It’s definitely strange.

Q: Writing this column, you must have wanted bad things to happen to you. Did you get concerned when things went too well?

A: You only think someone’s life is going well when you’re not that person. You can never tell how happy someone is in a pot of boiling water. I think you have a cooler job than I do, but I’m sure you’re not going, "Wow! Things are going so great for me!" Whatever happens, life is always going to be hard.

Q: Any words of advice for losers who might be reading this?

A: All around you, people look like they have a better idea of what’s going on. They’re full of shit. They don’t know what they’re doing. They have the same fears as everyone else — they just act it out in different ways.

Leitch will host a "Loser’s Lounge" party at Lucky’s Lounge, in Boston, on Saturday, May 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. The $20 admission price includes complimentary buffet and drinks (while supplies last). Call (617) 357-5825. Leitch’s archived column can be found at www.blacktable.com.