Paul Rosenberg

Sunni: So you guys are really pumping a lot into this venture. And you’re still in the electrical trade? Where do you find the time to do it all?

Paul: Ha! Another good question. For one, I’ve purposely streamlined my life in the past few years, and that helps a lot. And I completed a major project earlier this year, which opened up some time. Plus [pauses] I work hard.

Sunni: I’m sure you do. How do you carve out time for the kind of writing you do, though? I know it isn’t easy to craft such complex expressions of ideas.

Paul: It’s funny, but for me, writing is an exercise in the management of energy. When something seems to be coming out of me, I like to go with it. I’m much more productive that way, and it’s much more fun. Sometimes you have to just grind out the work, but I like going with my natural flow as much as I can. So, if I’m feeling especially enthusiastic about a project, I’ll kick it to the front of the line if possible.

Sunni: How do you cope with the inevitable interruptions? I’m pretty sure you don’t have kids, like I do, but sometimes even just getting up to get lunch can derail my work flow.

Paul: Actually, I do have kids, but they’re grown and on their own. I do know exactly what you mean, though. It is definitely hard.

Sunni: Time management is a constant challenge too; I often have multiple projects going at once, and have a hard time putting them aside to give all my energy to an essay that’s clamoring to be let out. I lose a lot of good ideas that way, and I hate it.

Paul: Yeah, I know. Maybe try enlisting the kids as partners. Keep a big, bright notepad of some sort—a really durable one! Then send the kids on missions to help you save the ideas. “Johnny, remember the word ‘displacement!’—Suzy, run and find Mommy’s idea book!” I know that won’t work all the time, but it might save an idea or two. And after they complete their mission, they may be willing to watch you write in silence for maybe five seconds. [laughing] It may not be enough, but five seconds of silence in your life right now is probably not a trivial thing!

Sunni: [laughs] It never is, Paul, but I’ve got to say, my children really are very understanding and patient with me. As is alluded to on the “Unjustly Forgotten” page, republishing older books can be astonishingly arduous, especially in today’s hyper-sensitive intellectual property climate. Is that the primary obstacle facing getting more projects going in that area?

Paul: Exactly. Copyright is an obstacle. It can be surmounted, but it’s a job. The other issue is picking books. I’m looking for great stuff, and some of that was never hugely popular even in its own day. Oh, here’s an example: Have you ever read, or even heard of Ben Hecht?

Sunni: No—but I’ve a feeling I’m about to hear about him! [laughs] Do tell!

Paul: Hecht was an absolutely brilliant writer—smart, interesting, and funny. But almost no one knows of him today, except as a screenwriter—which he did strictly for the money. He hated Hollywood. There are still copyright issues with Hecht’s work, but as soon as they go away, we intend to republish his best books.

Sunni: As an author yourself, what’s your view on the intellectual property issue? Should ideas, or specific instantiations of ideas as created by one person, be treated the same as physical property?

Paul: Boy, you’re not one for easy questions, are you?

Sunni: Nope! [laughs]

Paul: Okay [pauses] I have mixed feelings about copyright, which is probably just a reflection of reality—which is almost always mixed, with both good characteristics and bad characteristics in the same package, so to speak. On one hand, intellectual property is most certainly not the same as physical property. If you sell me your car, you can’t have it anymore. If you sell me your software, you can. This is a fundamental difference. On the other hand, groups of people that have protected property have become rich, and those who have not, have grown poor. The more they protect property, the better they do.

So, I’m not sure what the best ways to handle IP are. But I am sure that different methods must exist for protecting different types of property. What is right for a car is different than what is best for a song, is different than what is best for a trademark.