I’ve had an intellectual crush on Stacy Schiff for years, because her biographies are top notch and her commentary is so sharp and good. Now I have a feminist crush on her, too. Here’s the fabulous ending to Deborah Solomon’s Q&A with Schiff on Sunday:
What hidden details should we know about you?
I have three children, each of whom is having an idyllic childhood, probably because I have been at the office the entire time.
Did your children celebrate when you won the Pulitzer Prize in biography, in 2000?
Yes, they understood I had won a big award for typing.To make my cup really runneth over, the magazine also showed author Gish Jen clasping a mug and standing in study clogs on a dock at the Vermont lake she lives 100 feet from for part of the year. “I love being near the water,” Jen said, “because it affords recreation for my children, and when they are happy, I can work.” A teaspoon of love makes the working motherhood go down.
