I couldn’t be more pleased that Attempted Bloggery has posted its first interview; the occasion happily coincides with the publication of Peter Arno: The Mad Mad World of The New Yorker’s Greatest Cartoonist.
Here’s a snippet of the interview:
Q: …In 1925 Arno came to the New Yorker during the magazine’s rocky first year. How did a 21-year-old come to establish himself at the young magazine? He had talent, to be sure. Did he also have connections?
A: He had zero connections at The New Yorker. He brought his work in, unsolicited, like so many have done since. If we want to let our legs go wobbly for a moment, consider that Arno’s first visit to the New Yorker was going to be, in his own words, his “last try” at selling his art. Had the New Yorker not taken his work (one from that very submission), he would’ve headed fully into his other passion: music.