deb olin unferth, writer of revolution: the year i fell in love and went to join the war (henry holt), vacation (mcsweeney’s), and minor robberies (mcsweeney’s), lets plain wrap get to know her better. this is the twenty-seventh installment of plain wrap’s interview series in which plain wrap interviews all its facebook friends. thank you deb olin unferth.
1. Tell us about yourself?
1. I seem to keep changing living locations and I’m getting sick of it. Seems like someone my age should be a little more rooted by now. Seems like someone my age should have a couch. Also: I’m a vegan. Also: I’m trying to draw a graphic novel all by myself and it is really fucking hard. My God. Who knew? A few little drawings, a couple of jokes, is that what you think? No. Bow to the graphic novelist. Bow to Sisyphus.
2. Have you read any good books lately?
2. Oh yeah, man. That’s what I do. A few recent favorites: “Drawing Words and Writing Pictures,” “Parrots for Dummies,” “Leaving the Atocha Station,” “Just Kids,” “Nothing” (Henry Green), “The Abortion: An Historical Romance,” “Important Artifacts.”
3. Why did you leave your last job?
3. I loved my last job. I left because I applied for another job and I got it. Both jobs are good jobs, so it was moving from one good thing to another. Why do we do that? I don’t have an answer for you.
4. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
4. I read a lot of books and I listened to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks. I learned a little about Buddhism this year, enough to understand that there’s a lot to understand that I don’t understand and would like to. For a book I’m working on, I learned a lot about the egg industry, lots of reading about the egg industry, and what I learned: don’t eat eggs, ever. I did a lot of reading about parrots and what they’re like, also for a book I’m working on. Also I did yoga four times a week for the past year and now I can stand on my head and do many other strange, interesting things.
5. Tell us about the most fun you have had in life?
5. That’s a big question right there. I’ll have to think about that.
