Quote of the Day (Fran Lebowitz, on Her Urban Instincts)

“To put it bluntly, I am not the type of person who wants to go back to the land; I am the person of person who wants to go back to the hotel.”—American humorist and actor Fran Lebowitz, Social Studies (1981)

With Nora Ephron gone, the closest thing our time may have to the wit Dorothy Parker might be Fran Lebowitz—and, like Parker, though Lebowitz made her reputation in New York, she was born across the Hudson River—in Morristown, NJ, 75 years ago today, to be exact.

Unlike Parker or Ephron, Ms. Lebowitz has not gone to Hollywood as a screenwriter. In fact, she’s not written anything remotely substantial since the 1990s.

Still, she would dispute any notion that the phrase “writer's block” applies to her, though not for the reason you may think: 

“I would not call it a writer's block,” she has said. “A writer's block to me is a temporary thing. A month, you know, six weeks. This was more a writer's blockade.”

Until she breaks this "blockade," fans will have to make do with the two essay collections Lebowitz published 40 to 50 years ago, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies; view Martin Scorsese’s documentary about her from four years ago, Pretend It’s A City; and watch out for occasional interviews over the years in which she engages in hilarious venting and kvetching with all manner of opinions.