■ four questions

Abigail Pogrebin chats with Platinum.

Each month, we ask the sub-
ject of this column to envision a
prominent Jewish figure they'd
like to sit down and chat with.
Author and former 60 Minutes
and Charlie Rose producer
ABIGAIL POGREBIN has had
the rare opportunity to engage
in intimate discussions with
62 of the most accomplished
Jews in America — from
celebrities like Sarah Jessica
Parker, Joan Rivers and Dustin
Hoffman to Supreme Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Those conversations are document-
ed in her book, Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being
Jewish ($14.95; Broadway Books). She recently spoke about her
journey in writing the book at Woman2Woman, an event spon-
sored by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
"I was truly surprised by how candid people were with me,"
said Pogrebin. "I was riveted when Dustin Hoffman described
his encounter with anti-Semitism in Germany, and when Natalie
Portman decried the materialism of her Long Island Jewish
neighbors."
Pogrebin, 42, lives in New York City with her husband, David
Shapiro, and children, Benjamin, 10, and Molly, 8. The daughter
of Ms. magazine founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin, the Yale
University graduate has been published as a freelance journal-
ist in New York magazine, The New York Times Travel section,
Harper's Bazaar and numerous other publications. Here, we ask
Progrebin our version of the Four Questions.
— Robin Schwartz

WHAT BOOK, CD OR MOVIE DO YOU
LONG TO SHARE WITH OTHERS?
I just finished Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, and
I'm still haunted by it. Horan takes the reader into the
world of Frank Lloyd Wright and the woman he left his
wife to be with, Mamah Cheney. It challenges us to think
about whether a powerful love is ever worth upending
a family, whether being a parent should trump personal
fulfillment and whether brilliant work ever excuses self-
ishness. I struggle myself — not with adultery, thank
goodness, but with the constant tension between work and
parenting. My children are without question or hesitation
my heart and focus, but I also need to find time to work
in order to feel balance and stimulation in my life. It's
difficult to set aside the quiet, private time that writing
requires when one is juggling after-school activities, doc-
tors appointments and playdates. I haven't figured out how
to prioritize work and not feel guilty. My dilemma echoes
Mamah's only in the general sense: She was torn between
a great love (and time for her translating work) versus her
young children. I have no ambivalence about which comes
first, but I do notice that my own work time is difficult to
protect.

IF YOU COULD HAVE BRUNCH WITH
ONE BIBLICAL OR HISTORICAL JEWISH
FIGURE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
I would want to sit down with Lot's wife to ask her why
she looked back. I think it's a trap so many of us fall into
— to do exactly the thing we know we shouldn't, no mat-

2

ter what the warnings. I also find it frustrating that she
has no voice in the Torah — we never hear what she was
thinking, whether she trusted her husband, whether she
felt concern for those she was leaving behind. There are so
few well-rounded female characters in the Bible, and she
has always been a mystery to me.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE JEWISH FOOD?
I love potato latkes, but only if they're thin and crispy
with sour cream. They instantly take me back to my
childhood Chanukah parties, which my mother made glow
with life and warmth. Every relative was invited, and my
mother bought and wrapped a gift for every single person.
There were inviting piles on Chanukah: piles of gifts, piles
of latkes, piles of gelt [chocolate coins]. Now that I'm a
mother myself, I find myself wanting to carry on exactly
the same traditions so my children, Ben and Molly, look
forward to the holiday just as I did. I make the latkes the
way my mother always did — thin and crisp — the way
you can't find it in almost any Jewish deli.

3

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED
TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
That I spend too much time reading shelter maga-
zines, those magazines that feature sumptuous photo-
graphic spreads of other people's homes and tell stories of
how they chose to build or decorate. I don't know why I
find looking at furniture and fabrics so relaxing, but I do.
Maybe it's the mindlessness that calms me. Maybe it's the
glimpse into other people's lives. ❑

4

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NOVEMBER 2007 • JN platinum