Joselin Linder is a regular contributor to the New York Post, whose work has also been featured on “This American Life” and “Morning Edition.” She spoke at the TEDX GOWANUS event in Brooklyn in 2014, presenting for the first time on the subject of her family gene and the deadly illness to which it leads. Exclusive to just fourteen people, the story of the gene is the basis of her book, The Family Gene.
Joselin is speaking at House of SpeakEasy’s Seriously Entertaining show on March 20th, themed A Matter of Time, alongside Duncan Hannah, Stefan Merrill Block, and David Enrich. We spoke to Joselin ahead of the show…
What is your earliest memory involving reading or writing? I remember staying in from recess one day in kindergarten and my teacher asking me to read to her from a reader. For the first time, I read a story out loud by myself and unlocked words!
What is your favorite line from your current work? “The worse, it turns out, is always the thing you feel before the worst happens.”
What is your favorite first line of a novel? “Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York.” –A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
or
“Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can’t be sure.” –The Stranger
What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Three things – Read, write and live an important life.
What writer past or present do you wish you could eat dinner with? I bet Mark Twain was a pretty fun dinner date.
What writer do you wish you could share with the world? Mary Adkins is a playwright I love, who has her first book coming out with HarperCollins next spring called When You Read This and I’m super excited!
What are you reading right now? I just finished Elinore Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Good book!
What fictional character do you most closely identify with? I feel like Margaret (From Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret) and I probably grew up to be the same person.
If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? From Mary Poppins – I would live in the Chalk Drawings…or by Mary Poppins, Whangdoodleland.
Are there any quotes you use to inspire you? “I want to live in peace, and I want to die in peace.” (I don’t know if someone said this. I’m sure someone else said this…But sometimes it’s what gets me through the day…)
