Peter W. Knox - [Not Really] The New York Magazine Interview

Photo: PeterWKnox.com

Name: Peter Knox
Job: Knox is a young professional, recent college graduate, and working in the publishing capital of the world.
Age: Turns 24 this year, but not yet!

Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Holden Caulfield [fictional] was the first character I remember considering “New York”. And then Hunter S. Thompson [dead] who tried to fit in here, living in substandard conditions, even then, living on Perry St., fighting locals and wrecking havoc, either unemployed and writing, or hacking it as a mailroom boy at the Times. Finally, it’d be Jon Stewart [living]. I guess I have a thing for transplants as they’re more relatable to me.

What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
I’ve had so much good food so far, but the gourmet comfort food at S’Mac in the East Village was right across First Ave from my first apartment and puts everything into perspective for me.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Get people excited about books.

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
Umm, what was the most expensive book you’ve bought recently?

What’s the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Rent, before the announcement it was ending.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
Once or twice. They have to really entertain me or make me uncomfortable.

What’s your drink?
Fell in love with Brooklyn Lager when I got here, but over a NYC NYE open bar I realized that Johnny Walker Black might be the best tasting drink in the world - I was just drinking cheap scotch before that and thought I didn’t like scotch.

How often do you prepare your own meals?
Usually earlier in the week after blowing so much money on the weekend, I convince myself to tighten up financially. Essentially its a lot of pasta.

What’s your favorite medication?
I keep changing Aspirin brands as my tolerance builds up to it. Currently I’m on Advil gel.

What’s hanging above your sofa?
I’ve lived in my current apartment for a year and a half and my living room is still essentially bare, save for a framed signed Hunter S. Thompson open letter.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
The guys around my corner don’t speak much English but charge me next to nothing for a tune-up now and then. I’d say $30 is too much for a guy, no matter what.

When’s bedtime?
Weeknights are between midnight and 2am, and weekends range from 3am to 6am on average. There’s just too much to do when everyone else is sleeping.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
Considering I haven’t been around for the “old” I have to say even though the “new” lacks character I’ve still been avoiding it. Can’t say that would change.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
It’s hard to imagine anyone that’s branded themselves as much as he has, and still been successful. He was broke at one time and he now has more than I’ll ever be able to understand. Good for him. Still wouldn’t blow off a date just to hang out with him.

What do you hate most about living in New York?
It’s cliche, but it’s true - the cost is ridiculous. Back where I came from, my peers are buying houses and complain about gas, but when I go to buy the same Quizno’s sub that they do, I pay three dollars more. And my rent is more than their mortgages.

Who is your mortal enemy?
Is it possible to have an immortal enemy? I guess there’s no stronger lock of a mortal enemy than the last girl that dumped you. Inevitably you’ll compare yourself to her at every turn, and gain true satisfaction only by surpassing her meager goals in life.

When’s the last time you drove a car?
Over Christmas and New Years, at home.

Who should be the next president?
Barack Obama, are you kidding me? HRC reminds me of my mom, and I seriously doubt I can take four more years of nagging.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
The Times if I could afford it. I pretend that I can’t afford those other two.

Where do you go to be alone?
On a walk. I can be surrounded by hundreds of people on the street but if my earphones are in and I keep moving, I feel as if no one can touch me.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
This question pisses me off. No one can choose to have been born in New York any more than any one can choose their gender or skin color. I’m glad I was raised where and how I was and wouldn’t change those experiences for anything. But when I was ready, and I took a chance, I moved here on my own with no friends, contacts, or prospects and have thrived. I’ve always felt New York was a ‘Go Big or Go Home’ sort of situation and have done my best to make this my new home instead. Some people claim you have to be a native or live here an X amount of years.

I guess you’re finally a New Yorker when you don’t care about being labeled a New Yorker. And I guess I’m not there yet.