Fran Lebowitz on how to love your life

In an interview, Fran Lebowitz gives us a piece of her mind. vox.com/culture CULTURE   Fran Lebowitz is one of those figures familiar to every New Yorker as well as people all over the world: opinionated, funny, full of stories and vinegar. Pretend It’s a City, the documentary series she made two years ago with her longtime friend and fellow New Yorker Martin Scorsese — perhaps you’ve heard of him — was an absolute delight to watch, especially with a martini in hand. (Look, it was in the deep pandemic.) So I was delighted to read [Constance Grady’s interview]( with Fran, which is full of wonderful bon mots and the acerbic wit that has made Lebowitz famous. What I hadn’t expected was all of her insights about the recent writers strike, like this one: “People also seem to forget that in the last writers’ strike, which was in 2007, far fewer writers were hired after that. The movie business and TV business has always tried to get rid of writers. Every single person on a movie set thinks they could write. Every single executive certainly does.” She’s exactly right (and quoting, in a way, [both Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne](, who made these observations in their own writing decades ago). But my favorite part of the interview comes at the very end, with advice I should take to heart even though I’m definitely edging out of the “young” category. “Don’t worry about the future,” Fran told Constance. “Instead, savor the fact that you’re young. Because let me assure you, life does not get better and better. Just stop thinking about it. And just have fun.” —[Alissa Wilkinson](, senior correspondent Editor's note: For ongoing coverage and analysis of the developing conflict between Israel and Hamas, [read our Vox colleagues' work here](. Professional raconteur Fran Lebowitz thinks art should be useless [image of Fran Leibowitz]( Fran Lebowitz Brigitte Lacombe Does anyone have it figured out as well as Fran Lebowitz? She spent the 1970s hanging out with Andy Warhol and writing two books that made her the toast of her generation (1978’s Metropolitan Life and 1981’s Social Studies). Then she claimed writer’s block, hung it all up, and declined to publish anymore. [Now she’s in the amorphous career of public speaker](: acerbic and crankily funny, but not exactly a standup comic; politically engaged and insightful, but not exactly a pundit. You know. She’s Fran Lebowitz. Ahead of Lebowitz’s speaking event at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on October 21, I called her up to see if I could get her to give me a piece of her mind. Lebowitz obliged. Together, we discussed [whether AI is stealing, what makes art art, and how to build a life you love.]( Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. So you are about to do a new show in conversation with Marlon James at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. Do you know what you’ll be talking about? No, because I don’t ever allow the person interviewing me to tell me what the questions are that he wants to ask me, to cheat. I like to be surprised. Are you a fan of Marlon James’s work? Yes, I am. He’s a wonderful writer, don’t you think? Oh definitely. Although I couldn’t get into [the last trilogy that he’s been working on](. Well, you know, there’s certain things he writes about — not things, but ways of writing. I don’t know what the word is, I wouldn’t say it’s really science fiction, but it’s not totally realistic. That’s something I’m just not interested in in general. But he’s still wonderful. You’ve been doing this work for about 40 years now. What do you like most about it? Oh, much more [than 40 years]. More, more, more. More. I love answering questions. I mean, I actually love answering questions. And I love the surprise of it. The questions with the audience are, to me, the most fun. The interviewer, that can really vary. Some are very good, some are not very good. But the interview is also more serious, because they prepare and everything, which I do not. With the audience, you just never know. The writers’ strike just ended a couple of weeks ago. What do you think of [the deal they got](? I’m not in the Writers Guild, so I don’t know all the particulars, but here’s what I’m sure of: They didn’t get enough. Whatever they got, it was unquestionably better than what they were initially offered, but I’m certain it was not enough. People also seem to forget that in the last writers’ strike, which was in 2007, far fewer writers were hired after that. The movie business and TV business has always tried to get rid of writers. Every single person on a movie set thinks they could write. Every single executive certainly does. I’m sure they didn’t get enough, but obviously they got enough that they would settle, because you know, they starve them out. 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