The Queen of Sneer Fran Lebowitz Returns To Seattle For One Night Only

A gal has to eat and smoke and writer/pundit/style icon FRAN LEBOWITZ doesn’t really write that much so she earns her bread and butter talking about the things she loves (New York City and Cigarettes) and the things she doesn’t (people who don’t like NYC and Cigarettes). Our second favorite Fran (sorry, Fran Drescher will always be number one in our hearts) returns to Seattle’s Benaroya Hall on Sunday, September 22nd for “An Evening with Fran Lebowitz” where we’re sure she’ll have plenty to say about the current state of the world. Such as it is.

Snag tickets at: https://www.seattlesymphony.org/en/benaroyahall/bh-calendar/2024-2025/24franlebowitz

More poo:

An Evening with Fran Lebowitz

hosted by Claire Dederer

Sunday September 22, 2024

7:30 pm

“Fran Lebowitz’s trademark is the sneer; she disapproves of virtually everything except sleep, cigarette smoking, and good furniture. Her essays and topical interviews on subjects ranging from the difficulty of finding an acceptable apartment to the art of freeloading at weekend houses have come to be regarded as classics of literary humor and social observation.”

—The Paris Review

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Her Netflix series Pretend It’s a City, directed by Martin Scorcese, offers an unforgettable glimpse into her world view, and has exposed her to a new generation of loyal fans. 

In this intimate evening in Seattle, Fran will offer her acerbic views on current events and the media – as well as pet peeves including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. 

In addition, she will share her unique take on the current state of our Union.

The New York Times Book Review calls Lebowitz an “important humorist in the classic tradition.” Purveyor of urban cool, Lebowitz is a cultural satirist whom many call the heir to Dorothy Parker.

About the author:

Lebowitz on special interest groups: “Special-interest publications should realize that if they are attracting enough advertising and readers to make a profit, the interest is not so special.”

Lebowitz on frankness: “Spilling your guts is exactly as charming as it sounds.”

Lebowitz on herself: “Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.”

This is Lebowitz off the cuff. Her writing — pointed, taut and economical — is equally forthright, irascible, and unapologetically opinionated.

Lebowitz worked odd jobs, such as taxi driving, belt peddling, and apartment cleaning (“with a small specialty in Venetian blinds”), before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. That was followed by a stint at Mademoiselle. Her first book, a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, was a bestseller, as was a second collection, Social Studies. By turns ironic, facetious, deadpan, sarcastic, wry, wisecracking, and waggish, Lebowitz’s prose is wickedly entertaining. Her two books are collected in The Fran Lebowitz Reader, with a new preface by the author. The Fran Lebowitz Reader has been published in nine languages including French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. In 2021 it was published for the first time in the United Kingdom and became a bestseller. Lebowitz is also the author of the children’s book, Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas.

Between 2001 to 2007, Lebowitz had a recurring role as Judge Janice Goldberg on the television drama Law & Order. She also had a part in the Martin Scorsese-directed film, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). A raconteur if ever there was one, Lebowitz has long been a regular on various talk shows including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and Bill Maher. In an interview with the Paris Review, Lebowitz said “I’m not a nervous person. I’m not afraid to be on TV. I’m only afraid when I write. When I’m at my desk I feel like most people would feel if they went on TV.”

She can also be seen in various documentary films including the American Experience series on New York City, as well as Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), Regarding Susan Sontag (2014), and Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (1990), among others. In 2010 Martin Scorsese directed a documentary about Lebowitz for HBO titled Public Speaking. A limited documentary series, Pretend It’s A City, also directed by Martin Scorsese, premiered on Netflix in 2021, and was nominated for the 2021 Emmys in the Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Seriescategory. In 2021 she was awarded the Forte dei Marmi Festival della Satira Lifetime Achievement Award and was a 2021 Foreign Press Honorary Awardee – an award given by the Foreign Press Correspondents Association & Club USA.

Lebowitz was named to Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 2008. She remains a style icon. Lebowitz lives in New York City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.

Visit

https://franlebowitz.com

http://www.facebook.com/franlebowitz

https://www.netflix.com/title/81078137

About the host:
 
Claire Dederer was in high school when she discovered Fran Lebowitz’s Metropolitan Life on her parents’ bookshelf. Lebowitz’s voice was a revelation: hilariously funny, unapologetically tart, breath-takingly smart. Dederer is thrilled to be onstage with one of the writers who made her want to write. 
 
Most recently, Dederer is the author of Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, a national bestseller, a New York Times Notable, and the recipient of the The Los Angeles Times – Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose. Dederer’s previous books include the critically acclaimed memoirs Love & Trouble and Poser, which was a New York Times bestseller. A frequent contributor to The Guardian and The New York Times, Dederer has also written for The Paris Review, Vogue, The Atlantic, Slate, and many other publications. She lives in Seattle.
 
https://www.clairedederer.com/