Rochelle Distelheim
Author Interview - Rochelle Distelheim
HBL Note: On June 8th of this year, I received an email from Rochelle’s publicist introducing me to her latest novel, JERUSALEM AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. I was intrigued that Rochelle was writing well into her 90s and that she was also from Chicago. I immediately asked for an author interview and she agreed. One week later, however, I got another email from Rochelle’s publicist informing me that Rochelle had passed away (click here to read her obituary) but that her daughters wanted to complete the author interview for her. I think this is a beautiful tribute to their mother. I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about Rochelle Distelheim through her daughters.
Author I draw inspiration from: Our mother drew inspiration from the fact that she shared a birthday with Jane Austen, but she also drew inspiration from the many contemporary writers -- too many to list -- whose fiction she read and admired. If we must single out one writer, though, it is Brian Doyle, a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, whose essays, in particular, touched a deep chord within her. She was awed by his ability to capture and convey the extraordinary grace that is often hidden within life's seemingly ordinary moments.
Author Interview - Rochelle Distelheim
Favorite place to read a book: Our mother's favorite place to read a book was in the large comfortable chair in what used to be our father's office -- the exact spot that had been his favorite place to read a book.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Our mother would probably like to be stuck in an elevator with Olive Kitteridge, whose refusal to waste time on small talk and propensity toward baldly expressing whatever was on her mind, would be likely to ensure a spirited conversation.
Author Interview - Rochelle Distelheim
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: We think our mother would probably say that she couldn't remember a moment when she didn't want to become an author. She delighted in words -- in reading them, in writing them, in playing with them -- as a child, and her enchantment only deepened as she grew. She wrote for her school papers in grammar school, middle school and high school before eventually receiving her Bachelors Degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and her Masters Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Our mother definitely preferred physical books to either ebooks or audiobooks. She balked at the idea of not being able to hold the pages in her hand and often turned back to reread sections, or jumped ahead to see how a writer would handle an ending, or wrote in the margins as she read. Hardback and paperback books were equally acceptable to her, although she'd probably choose a paperback as her first choice.
The last book I read: One Long River of Song, by Brian Doyle
Author Interview - Rochelle Distelheim
Pen & paper or computer: Our mother did her serious writing on her computer, but was never without pen and paper and often jotted down thoughts as they came to her, to be transferred to her computer later. Her purses, clothes pockets, desk drawers, glove compartments, etc. were always raining down scraps of paper filled with ideas.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: We believe that our mother would be best friends with Sadie Schuster, the protagonist of her first novel, Sadie in Love. Although the facts of Sadie's life differed significantly from the facts of our mother's (Sadie was a Polish immigrant, matchmaker, suffragette and lover of ballroom dance, living on New York's Lower East Side in 1913), they had many traits in common. Sadie was filled with the same zest for life and refusal to be defeated by its challenges that were impossible to miss in our mother.
Author Interview - Rochelle Distelheim
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: Our mother was one of the early advocates of what was then called the Women's Liberation movement, authoring a column called "The Liberated Woman" in our local newspaper and hosting a public television show where she talked with pioneers in the feminist movement, such as Gloria Steinem. She remained politically active throughout her life, fighting for equal justice for women, immigrants and other underrepresented groups, so had she not been an author, it is likely that she would have chosen to be an attorney.
Favorite decade in fashion history: We're not certain which precise decade our mother would choose as her favorite, but it would be whichever encompassed the time when women were freed from the necessity of wearing stockings and heels, when it became fashionable to wear pants and comfortable shoes.
Place I’d most like to travel: Our mother was a world traveler, but one place she never managed to get to, and often said she wished she had, was South America.
My signature drink: Coffee -- decaf latte, whenever possible.
Favorite artist: Our mother was a lifetime member of the Art Institute of Chicago and loved visiting the works of many of her favorite artists, especially the Impressionists, there, but if asked for the name of her favorite, she might have been likely to select a lesser known one. Our physician father also owned an art gallery in Chicago for many years and traveled to Europe frequently to meet with the artists whom he represented in it. The works of many of those artists have filled our parents' home in the years since he closed the gallery and they would likely be among those whom our mother would choose. Three in particular whom she would probably name are Byron Burford, Fred Jessup and Pierre Lelong.
If asked to name her favorite musical artist, she would be likely to choose Stephen Sondheim.
Anything else you'd like to add: Sadie in Love, our mother's first novel, published in 2018, has been earning rave reviews from its readers. We're sure that readers of Jerusalem As a Second Language would love it as well.
Author Interview - Rochelle Distelheim
