5 Questions With A Comedian: Roz Chast
What’s one secret you’ve learned for when you have to deal with a difficult person in the industry?
I don’t mean to gush, but I love this woman. I mean, who doesn’t? She’s appealing to the kiddies, the grandmas and everyone in between. Her richly amusing and highly relatable illustrations have appeared everywhere from National Lampoon to Harvard Business Review to Scientific American, but you’ve probably seen her work in The New Yorker. She has written and illustrated many books, including a personalized travel guide, Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York, her first memoir, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award and was shortlisted for a National Book Award, and her latest book, I Must Be Dreaming.
1. Has having an unusual name been beneficial to your illustration career? I don't know. Probably not.
2. What monetary range should a new comic illustrator hope to be paid in today’s market? Also: don't know. Probably not much.
3. What else are you good at doing? Sitting. Procrastinating. Acrostics. These three are probably all connected.
4. What’s one secret you’ve learned for when you have to deal with a difficult person in the industry? Try to think of difficult people as material. "Feel free to be even more of a jerk because I'm using all of your jerkitude for fun and profit."
5. What percentage of your friends are funny? Close to 100%, if not 100%.
Today’s inspo:
A recent piece of Roz’s work | Instagram
Roz’s latest magazine cover illustration | The New Yorker
You’ll Always Regret Leaving the City for the Suburbs | The New York Times
Bye bye, birdie.