Experts
Calvin Trillin
Author / Journalist
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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. Read More
October 14, 2009 | In Media & Internet
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Why Journalists Don’t Drink Like They Used To
When asked why journalists today are drinking less, Calvin Trillin observes that the field became a respectable one only a few decades ago. Thirty years back, Ivy Leaguers would never dream of entering the field. Read More
October 14, 2009 | In Media & Internet
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Big Think Interview With Calvin Trillin
A conversation with the author and journalist. Read More
October 12, 2009 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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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." Read More
October 12, 2009 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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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. Read More
October 12, 2009 | In Inspiration & Wisdom
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Calvin Trillin is always puzzled by financial decisions about writing. Read More
October 12, 2009 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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Calvin Trillin's most memorable journalism moment was his ride on the first Freedom Ride bus into Jackson, Mississippi. Read More
October 12, 2009 | In History, Media & Internet
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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. Read More
October 12, 2009 | In Business & Economics, History, Media & Internet
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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. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Business & Economics
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What role should journalists play in the 2008 election?
Reporters tend to be more interested in process, Trillin says. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Media & Internet, Politics & Policy
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Is the American health care system broken?
Why is somebody's healthcare tied to his job on an assembly line? Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Health & Medicine
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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? Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Media & Internet, Politics & Policy
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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. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Politics & Policy, World
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What forces have shaped humanity most?
Religion has been polarizing us for time immemorial. Read More
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What is the measure of a good life?
You might as well be a mensch. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Love, Sex, & Happiness
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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. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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The New Yorker's Joseph Mitchell has always been an inspiration of craft; Peter De Vries has been an inspiration for humor. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Arts & Culture, Inspiration & Wisdom, Media & Internet
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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. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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What is the struggle of writing?
Trying to figure out what goes first and what goes second. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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Although a writer never gets it quite perfect, the joy of laughter and discovery is enough to make a living. Read More
December 14, 2007 | In Arts & Culture, Media & Internet
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)
