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Calvin Trillin

Author / Journalist

Calvin Trillin is a journalist, humorist and novelist. Best known for his humorous writing about food and eating, he is also the author of several books of fiction, nonfiction essays, comic verse and plenty of more serious journalism.

Trillin was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1935. He received his BA from Yale University, where he was chair of the Yale Daily News, in 1957. In 1963, after a serving in the U.S. Army and then working at Time magazine for a short time, Trillin joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine, where his reporting on racial integration at the University of Georgia eventually developed into his first book, An Education in Georgia: Charlayne Hunter, Hamilton Holmes and the Integration of the University of Georgia. Trillin's 1967-1982 column "U.S. Journal" for The New Yorker documented events throughout the nation, both funny and serious; since 1984, he has written a series of longer, narrative pieces under the title "American Chronicles."

Trillin is also a longtime contributor to The Nation magazine - is, in fact, the single most prolific contributor to that magazine to date. From 1978-1980 he penned a column called "Variation"; from 1984-1990 another called "Uncivil Liberties"; and from 1990 to the present a weekly one called "Deadline Poem" consisting of humorous poems about current events.

Calvin Trillin's most recent novel is Deciding the Next Decider: The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme (Nov. 2008)

Calvin Trillin on the Young “New Yorker” Managing Editor

Journalist Calvin Trillin says we shouldn’t be too impressed with the 26 year old who recently became the New Yorker’s managing editor.

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Why Journalists Don’t Drink Like They Used To

Journalism only became respectable a few decades ago. Thirty years back, Ivy Leaguers would never dream of entering the field.

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Big Think Interview With Calvin Trillin

A conversation with the author and journalist.

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What Keeps Calvin Trillin Up At Night

Calvin Trillin describes his irrational fear of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.

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The “Vomit Out” Writing Strategy

Author and journalist Calvin Trillin relies on a noteless predraft when he composes his articles, which he deems the “vomit out.”

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Remembering Gourmet Magazine

Calvin Trillin is always puzzled by financial decisions about writing.

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Calvin Trillin’s Freedom Ride

Calvin Trillin’s most memorable journalism moment was his ride on the first Freedom Ride bus into Jackson, Mississippi.

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Remember When Journalism Was Profitable?

Calvin Trillin fondly remembers how print journalism overcame its last big opponent, television, and wonders if it will be able to deal with the Internet in the same way.

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What role should journalists play in the 2008 election?

Reporters tend to be more interested in process, Trillin says.

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If you had $100 billion to give away, how would you spend it?

The money would go to Bill Gates’s foundation, Trillin says.

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What should be the big issues of the 2008 presidential election?

Why do journalists keep telling us who’s going to win or lose? Is that really the point?

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Is the American health care system broken?

Why is somebody’s healthcare tied to his job on an assembly line?

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What is the measure of a good life?

You might as well be a mensch.

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What forces have shaped humanity most?

Religion has been polarizing us for time immemorial.

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What is America’s place in the world?

We still haven’t figured out what to do with ourselves in the wake of the Cold War.

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Do you have a creative process?

At some point most writers realize they sound the way they’re supposed to sound, Trillin says.

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What sparks your creativity?

The New Yorker’s Joseph Mitchell has always been an inspiration of craft; Peter De Vries has been an inspiration for humor.

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What impact does your writing have?

Reporters who think that they’re actually affecting things are following the path to madness or pomposity.

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What is the joy of writing?

Although a writer never gets it quite perfect, the joy of laughter and discovery is enough to make a living.

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What is the struggle of writing?

Trying to figure out what goes first and what goes second.

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What is your counsel?

Canadians believe that recycling will make them pure, Trillin says. Maybe Americans can learn a thing or two from that.

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Midwestern Values

The worst thing that could happen to a Midwesterner, Trillin says, is to have someone tell your mother at the supermarket that you’d gotten too big for your britches.

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The Evolution of Journalism

Nobody ever thought there’d be a rich reporter, Trillin says.

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Fifty years ago, Trillin would have never thought that religion would become so prominent in American public life.

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The American government still spends too much money on defense, Trillin says.

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What is your outlook?

Trillin is optimistic about his own life, but says the world will have to worry about itself.

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What do you do?

According to his late wife, Trillin is more a writer than a reporter.

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What is your contribution?

Trillin would settle for making someone smile after a hard day’s work.

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What inspires you?

Trillin doesn’t get up in the morning thinking, “Today, I’m going to write the great American story about parking.”

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What do you believe?

Trillin believes in not having a personal philosophy.

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