Drinks with Anna Andersen

classic daiquiri garnished with blackberries

Below lies the first of our short interview series, “Drinks with…” featuring one of our editors, Anna Andersen.

Normally, these will be exclusively for paid subscribers, but to start things off, we want to give everyone a taste. Sometimes, we’ll feature editors, or contributors, or anybody we’d like to have over for cocktails.

So, without further ado, let’s pour…

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(Photo Credit: Anna’s husband, Devyn, the artist formerly known as Digyphus)

“I’ve never been a fan,” Anna says, when I mention Audrey Hepburn early in the evening. This was before we really got into the questions below but an early foreshadowing of the many digressions we would meander down as we tried (and failed) to do the interview in a tight 40 minutes. Unlike the photo above, tonight she sits in a comfy armchair, surrounded by green houseplants whose limbs dangle over ledges and end tables. Over her shoulder hangs a painted portrait of Fandango, their pug. Anna wears a bright pink sweater, and you can almost believe she lives somewhere tropical where sand and piña coladas are an everyday hindrance to productivity (Nashville, in reality). Even as the thought passes through this writer’s mind, her husband appears on cue to hand her a limey daiquiri garnished with a trio of blackberries impaled on a toothpick. My first question, in some form or another, is one we usually get around to every time we meet, especially when daiquiris are involved:

What’s the last great book you read?

War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

Why?

Because he is able to encompass a wide cast of characters and locations and long time stretches without ever feeling strained. It’s a very balanced novel.

What styles or genres of stories/books do you have trouble getting into?

Contemporary Young Adult novels are a challenge.

Why is that?

Some have good ideas, but the writing always reads very under-developed and feels contrived to fit “a certain criterion.”

Outside of reading, what do you like to do? And do those interests have any influence on what you read?

I’m really into movies. I watch a lot of older and obscure films. It’s so easy to watch something, and whatever I find interesting in a particular movie often leads to me reading a book on the subject. Like last year’s Elvis. After watching that, I read Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick, and now I’m deep into the second volume, Careless Whisper.

What does a “wrong turn” mean to you?

If I’m taking that to mean what we’re doing with this lit mag, it would be: taking literature back to being focused on good writing, not filling a quota in a very soulless, corporate way.

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If you have your own questions for Anna, leave a comment below!