Pittsburgh’s fearless features reporter Rege Behe asked Anthony Doerr a few “Littsburgh Questions” after his recent interview with him for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review…
Doerr — Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See (a National Book Award finalist) — will be visiting Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures on Monday, April 4th!
Except for a trip to Sewickley to play soccer while he was in high school, Anthony Doerr has never been to Pittsburgh. The Cleveland native, who appears April 4 as a guest of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures’ Literary Evenings, has heard the stories about Pittsburgh’s booming restaurant scene and how the city has become a trendy destination. Not to mention six Super Bowl trophies.
“We have many insecurities in Cleveland about Pittsburgh,” says Doerr, who lives in Idaho but remains a devoted fan of the Browns, the Indians, and the Cavaliers.
That loyalty, Doerr thinks, has helped him develop the thick skin that’s necessary to be a writer. But it’s not easy, and there are scars.
“You’re losing all these heart-breaking ways in sports,” he says, “and that stuff does filter into your psychology in a way.”
But Doerr insists it’s better to be be born into a fandom than to whimsically choose to root for a team. In Idaho there’s no “tribalism about sports,” Doerr says, because there are no professional franchises.
“People here just kind of choose whoever they root for: I think I’ll be a Cowboys fan because they’re good,” Doerr says, laughing. “That almost toxic to me. How can you not be loyal to the place where you grew up? It’s an important lesson, and a little dangerous. I’ve already infected my children with Cleveland sports.”
More book coverage from The Pittsburgh Tribune Review…