Against Perfection

Author Abigail Thomas talks with Sari Botton about her new book, "Still Life at Eighty," finding beauty in messiness and imperfection, and the similarities between her writing and her work with clay.

Mar 24, 2023

∙ Paid

Here’s a little bonus for paid subscribers: a brief interview I did for

with author Abigail Thomas about her latest memoir, Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing, published by Golden Notebook Press.

You might recall that I recently published an excerpt of the book here on Oldster:

Oldster Magazine

My Whole Life Has Brought Me Here

This is an excerpt of Abigail Thomas’s new memoir, Still Life at Eighty: the Next Interesting Thing. It’s the very first book out from Golden Notebook Press, an exciting new venture from The Golden Notebook, a fantastic bookstore in Woodstock, New York, the town Thomas now calls home. A small portion of this appeared in Oldster …

7 months ago · 109 likes · 52 comments · Abigail Thomas

In this conversation, Thomas and I talk about her wonderful book, her spare writing style, beginner’s mind, embracing messiness and imperfection, getting older, and the similarities between writing and making things with clay.

PS You can catch Thomas next Friday night, March 31st, in conversation with journalist Rosemary Armao at this year’s edition of the Woodstock Book Fest. I’ll be taking part in the festival this year—as a judge in Thursday night’s story slam, and as the moderator of the Saturday afternoon personal essay panel, featuring our very own Carolita Johnson, Alexander Chee, and

Gary Shteyngart

. Tickets are still available!

Okay, here’s the interview. Hope you enjoy it! - Sari

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