A conversation with Fran Lebowitz

Originally published on The JOLT News on February 13, 2026

Fran Lebowitz is coming to the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Olympia, and I believe this is an occasion we should all be excited about! Be sure to get your tickets before they sell out! You can click here to learn more.  

For people who may not recognize her name, Fran Lebowitz is a significant figure in American culture and history (which you can read about in her bio). Her writing and commentary are filled with honesty, humor, and her own flavor of neurosis, which is very amusing. In recent years, she has become known for living life without a smartphone, and that has allowed her to observe our world with a unique and insightful lens.  

She is iconic and commands respect, and I feel so humbled and honored that she decided to chat with me.  

I hope these pieces from our conversation inspire you to keep investing in the things that make life worth living,  and that make our world a better place — this of course includes the arts!  

 Moments from our conversation  

Rachel: Earlier in our conversation, you mentioned how a lot of adults like to play games on their phone or whatever to relax. Since you step away from technology in your everyday life, what is something you like to do to relax? 

Fran:  Basically, when I don’t have to do anything else, I’m reading. That’s been true my whole life. You know, if lying on the sofa, reading a book was a profession … the idea is always there, but it is not a profession, so that is what I do in my free time. That is what I have done my whole life since I have learned to read.  

Rachel:  What book are you reading right now? 

Fran:  I get asked this question often, and very often I will not tell them because I do not like the book, and I never want to talk about books I don’t like, but right now I’m reading a wonderful, wonderful book called “The Emperor's Tomb” by Joseph Roth. It was written in the early 20th century so it's not new, but it’s new to me. That’s why I always say, no matter how much you read, you’re never gonna run out of books.  

Rachel:  The arts have always been important, but why do you believe that the arts are important today?  

Fran: You know, they are important to who they are important to. OK, that’s the problem right? So, there’s some people who’ve never given a single thought or paid any attention to them at all. OK? Unfortunately, those are the people in power. I mean, they’re very important to me, but they are not important to many people, which is why they’re considered to be some sort of accessory. This is why the American government has never given much financial support to the arts, because they think, ‘Well this is just not an important thing.’ There are lots of places in western Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, where almost every museum is free. Someone at one of these places said that the taxes are very high there. Let me assure you, the taxes in New York City are far higher and look at what we get for it in that regard, very little. 

Rachel:  OK, this is kind of a selfish question, just for me (and now JOLT readers). What is your favorite film?  

Fran:  I love movies, but I don’t have one favorite movie, I tell you the truth. I’m 75, do you know how many movies I’ve seen? You know who has favorites? Little kids. You can ask a kid for their favorite flavor, and they have only had three flavors in their whole life, so they can easily have a favorite. I really love movies. A lot of younger people don’t really care about movies. I’m not going to say who this is, but the son of two very famous artists. I said to his father, ‘Your son should go see this,’ and he goes, ‘He doesn’t like movies.’ I go, ‘What?!’ I found this very shocking. He found movies too long. Young people are used to short and fast-paced, but if you watch a movie or old movies, which I do, you are struck by how slow they are. That is because people have no patience anymore.  

Reflection 

Fran gave us a lot of good food for thought, and inspired me to continue watching old films, read books, and pay attention to the world around us and advocate for the world we want. The message is simple, yet very effective and empowering.   

This was just a glimpse of her incredible insight — I invite you to get a ticket to the show and see her for yourselves!  

You can click here for more event information.   

https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/a-conversation-with-fran-lebowitz,28189?