Benjamin Schwarz is literary editor and national editor of The Atlantic. Born in New York City and raised around the country, Schwarz has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, and The Nation. Before he interviewed Peter Beinart about the limits of American power, Schwarz sat down for our In The Green Room Q&A.
Q. What’s the last habit you tried to kick?
A. Running. It can become a form of procrastination. I have been able to reduce my running significantly. That means I’ve gained weight, but it’s earned me some time.
Q. Who was your childhood hero?
A. To be honest, I don’t think I had a childhood hero. I grew up at a time that was unusually antiheroic. I was born in ’63.
Q. What do you consider to be the greatest simple pleasure?
A. Reading to my son. He enjoys reading but he’d much rather play. I’m less interested in playing and more in just reading.
Q. Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a typical Saturday?
A. Gardening.
Q. What is the last book you read?
A. I read books for a living so it’s a complicated question, but, a history of the Broadway musical.
Q. What do you wish you had the nerve to do?
A. I actually have a lot of nerve, I’ve been told.
Q. What was the last thing that inspired you?
A. The music of Frank Sinatra uplifts me, and George Orwell’s writing uplifts me. I think I could use more inspiration, but we’ll have to settle for uplift.
Q. What is your favorite word?
A. Scintillating.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional character?
A. Tie. Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby and Nicholas Jenkins in A Dance to the Music of Time. I named my son somewhat after them, and my wife’s brother’s name is also Nick.
Q. What is your favorite cocktail?
A. A martini in the summer and a Manhattan in the winter.
Q. Whose talent would you like to have?
A. I’d like to be an omni-competent, like my father-in-law – finding directions, fixing a fence, things like that. Daily competence.
Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most like to meet for dinner?
A. Churchill, because I’m writing a book on him. I think he would be a less interesting, subtle and complex character than a lot of people in history, but I’d have to go with Churchill.
To read about Schwarz’s interview with Peter Beinart, click here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.