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ESSAY QUESTION
Sarah Vowell, civic pride, and Revenge of the Nerds
BY NINA WILLDORF

Last year, before the September 11 attacks, humor essayist Sarah Vowell, author of Take the Cannoli (Simon & Schuster, 2000), started assembling a collection of essays about civic pride, her love of Lincoln, and how the 2000 election mirrored Revenge of the Nerds. The contributing editor for cult-favorite public-radio show This American Life was truly hoping her new collection, The Partly Cloudy Patriot (Simon & Schuster), would be " irrelevant and old-fangled, " in a kitschy sort of way. Little did she know how timely her newest book would be, in the wake of renewed political awareness.

Next week, Vowell, 32, will bring her specific brand of humor — one part slice-of-life observation, one part historical context, one part pop-culture sass — to Boston as she reads from her new book in her familiar monotone deadpan.

Q: Your book appears to be pretty of-the-moment.

A: I had all but one essay finished by last August. It had all these old-fashioned little essays about voting and civics and patriotism. Who knew that the Gettysburg Address would be in the news? This love of country has become kind of a fad.

Obviously, much to my dismay, the book is more relevant than I would have hoped. I thought I would read my little Gettysburg Address story, and they’d just think it was so weird and cute or something because it was so arcane.

Q: You seem to have a unique way of interpreting politics with a pop sensibility.

A: Yeah. That’s pretty much the only thing I can offer. I cannot offer in-depth analysis. I didn’t spend years at Oxford, I wasn’t battling in the trenches of various wards in Chicago. I’m not an expert on anything, but I’m interested in everything.

Q: Do you believe in the distinction between high and low culture?

A: I think pop culture can be so erudite and insightful, and things that are supposed to be serious can be so damn stupid. For me it’s all just culture. I think on any given week the Onion will say something smarter than Cokie Roberts [does].

Q: Do you find yourself always talking politics with your friends?

A: I’ve always liked talking about it. Like, there was a boy I really wanted to be friends with in high school, and then in college we became friends. I asked him, " Why didn’t you talk to me before? " And he said, " I was, uh, I was always afraid you would want to talk about my feelings on Nicaragua. "

Q: One of my favorite essays in the collection is about a trip you took to Salem.

A: Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of place I do like to visit, because something really horrible happened there and therefore, there is money to be made. And it’s just so galling. I don’t know, calling the football team the Salem Witches seems totally charming, and on the other hand just gruesome. All that witch kitsch is just questionable.

Sarah Vowell will read from The Partly Cloudy Patriot on Monday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m., at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut Street, Newton. Call (617) 244-6619.

Issue Date: September 26 - October 3, 2002
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