Mother Jones asked Maria Popova of Brain Pickings some interesting questions about her work habits, how her parents feel about her chosen career, her ability to stay in the U.S. on a work visa (she’s from Bulgaria), and more.
Here’s a small slice of the interview with Popova:
With Brain Pickings, especially, whenever I look at a piece of content I think “Can I add something to it? Can I add some depth and context and background to really make it worth featuring?” Or do I just do what Jeff Jarvis calls “do-what-you-do-best-and-link-to-the-rest,” and just tweet it instead? That’s always the litmus test. Is there something that I can say. If I can pull in pieces of older content or something else that connects different disciplines or different ideologies, then I will write an article about it.
When Popova’s not adding her something to say on Brain Pickings, or the magazines that she writes for, she’s working for TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York City, and reading 10 to 15 books a week.
People have asked me how I do what I do here on AdPulp, while juggling work and family, but I don’t hold a candle to Popova when it comes to her media diet, or her ability to repurpose what she consumes. Of course, no one else does either, so it’s not like I’m being hard on myself.
Photo credit: Panman Productions
