Amy Musher's Mailbag

By Amy Musher

When a single day's batch of mail includes a letter from one reader who tells us how much she "adores Joel Stein's celebrity interviews" and another from a reader who thinks Stein is "the nastiest, bitchiest, sleaziest little rat ever to scoot around the halls of TIME," you know you've got one provocative writer on your hands.

From the moment he debuted as the writer of the People section, on Nov. 3, 1997, we noticed an uptick in mail about what was already one of the magazine's best-read pages. More than that, it was the beginning of an intractable love-hate relationship. Was Stein "the best thing to happen to TIME," or had the People page "become prisoner to his maniacal destructiveness"? Was he "wacky and fun" or "flat-out obnoxious"? Even as a sportswriter, a role he has taken up recently, Stein continues to attract both cheers ("What brilliant commentary!") and catcalls ("His report on the Yankees sent me running for the Pepto-Bismol"). To help us--and you--better understand this controversial phenom on our roster, we decided to turn the tables and pose our readers' queries to him directly.

Q + A JOEL STEIN

Q: How should we answer the reader who asked, "Just how puerile can a columnist get?"

A: Real puerile. But I've got to look up the meaning of that word.

Q: We think you look pretty normal, so why do you think anyone would call you "a journalistic mosquito"?

A: Why do readers write better than I? A "journalistic mosquito"? That's great! If I were a rapper, I'd go by that name.

Q: A reader suggested that the time has come for an all-Joel magazine, the Stein Journal. If there were such a beast, what would its focus be?

A: It would be all about me and my exciting life. I'd add some recipes, some gardening tips and hints for better flower arrangements. The last page would be a column on my childhood memories. Oh, and yeah, every once in a while, I'd fire my whole staff.

Q: One reader wants to know why anyone would agree to an interview with you after seeing what you've done. What's up with that?

A: What is up with that? Only one person has ever refused an interview. Publicists try to get me to interview their people, even though they know what they're in for. I guess they're sick of the normal questions and are looking for some puerile stuff.

Q: When readers tell us they are amazed and astounded by the "utter lack of redeeming qualities" in your column, what should we reply?

A: What kind of "redeeming qualities" would anyone look for in a Q + A? That's like saying I feel empty and alone after reading INSTYLE.

Q: We've been told TIME deserves credit "for taking a flyer with Stein's kind of material. He's huge!" Does that make you feel like a big deal?

A: Yeah, sure. TIME's whole flyer policy made me feel large. As soon as I found out about it, my life changed.

Q: Did your mom write that letter?

A: Yes, she did.