Jessa Crispin: The Accidental Tastemaker
What’s in the works for reviewing, currently?
I need to finish up a column about the brain asymmetry book, and the Chanel piece is done. I’m reviewing a Stephen Benatar book for NPR I need to get started on. As for Bookslut, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen the list from Michael yet.
How, if at all, does [your recent move to] Berlin affect Bookslut or your relationship with the site?
It’s given me a little distance, which I desperately needed. And it’s weirdly changed the way that I write. I’m writing these essays for The Smart Set, which is really different from the way I used to write them, and also the blogging is different. I don’t know why that’s happened, but I blame Berlin. Also, there’s a real collaborative spirit in Berlin. You can have just met someone, say, “Hey, we should do this project together…” and they’re in.
Any words of wisdom/inspiration/advice for us in the literary world?
I’m really bad at advice. Most of the time when someone gives me advice it’s horribly wrong. So I’ll just say this: doing your own thing, figuring out what makes you happy and then sticking with it is fucking hard work, and it’s scary, and people will tell you you’re insane. But it’s the best, most rewarding, most exhilarating thing in the world, and I wouldn’t have done it any differently.
