19 Rounds with Matt Young

We are so thrilled that Matt Young has joined us as Memoir Editor. His memoir, Eat the Apple, was described as "brilliant and barbed" by NPR and "inventive, unsparing, irreverent and consistently entertaining" by the New York Times. And it's now available in paperback! Help us welcome Matt aboard the usual way: with 19 rounds.

1. Early bird or night owl?
Night owl. But now that I have a ten-month-old I am also an early bird. Fun fact: I am slowly dying from lack of sleep.

2. What was your worst haircut?
I had a blue liberty-spike mohawk at one point in high school, which was pretty bad. The high-and-tight the base barbers gave me during boot camp wasn’t exactly art either.

3. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’ve been listening to “Velouria” by the Pixies (yes music nerds I know it is simply Pixies) over and over again recently. I guess it could be okay to be tortured by that song.

4. Can you roll your tongue?
Yes.

5. Mayonnaise: yes or no?
Yes.

6. What is your least favorite word to come across when reading a book or story?
Glad.

7. Which movie was better than the book?
John Carpenter’s The Thing is better than John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There? hands down. Battle of the Johns. Two Johns enter. One John leaves.

8. What was your first concert?
My mom took me to an Amy Grant concert when I was eight--I’m glad I said that thing earlier about the Pixies to make myself seem cooler.

9. It's Friday night. You're home alone. What did you order for dinner and what's on the TV?
Pizza--pepperoni, black olives, and green peppers--and something sci-fi-body-horror-ish.

10. How do you take your coffee?
Black.

11. What expression do you use that most people have never heard?
Game over, man.

12. What movie have you seen the most times?
Probably A River Runs Through It (also better than the book)--it’s a comfort movie that reminds me of my grandfather.

13. What is the best thing you cook or bake?
Sweet potato pie--homemade crust and filling.

14. Finish this sentence: More people should be reading _______________.
Whatever they want.

15. Favorite time-waster?
Really, everything’s a way to waste time because we’re all just sacks of meat waiting to die, but that’s pretty bleak I guess. Okay, writing. But if I say writing I’m like some kind of self-hating monster, right? I’ll go with fly fishing.

16. What's the hardest thing about writing?
Being open to receiving feedback on drafts from other writers.

17. What's the best thing about writing?
Receiving feedback on drafts from other writers.

18. What is your favorite sentence from a short story or poem?
“If I opened up your head and ran a hot soldering iron around in your brain, I might turn you into someone like that.”--Denis Johnson, “Dundun” from Jesus’ Son.

19. What question were you hoping to be asked?
“Can you explain why the 1982 version of The Thing is the best movie ever made?”