Lena Dunham is an unstoppable creative force. She’s been releasing critically acclaimed projects since graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio in 2008. Her new memoir, “Famesick,” about her career, success and the unexpected side effects that accompanied her rise to household-name status, is yet another critical darling.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, Dunham sat down with writer Robert Becker to discuss the book in front of a packed house at the Cornwall Congregational Church in Cornwall Village. The event was sponsored by the Cornwall Library, which, due to unprecedented demand, chose the church as the venue in order to fit more members of the curious community.
Dunham, whose parents are local in the Cornwall area, is settling into town, splitting time between the Northwest Corner and London with her husband, musician Luis Felber, and their first child, a baby girl. Due to her new role as mother, Dunham has not spent much time promoting “Famesick” in person. Despite her lack of public appearances, the book has topped the New York Times bestseller list at No. 1.
Becker boasts a storied résumé himself, with stints at The Paris Review and Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine. There was an intimate, natural feel to their rapport, grabbing and retaining the attention of everyone in attendance, from millennials to baby boomers, along with a few recognizable celebrities who blended right in with the local population. Both writers landed off-the-cuff jokes with expert timing, often drawing uproarious laughter and applause. The hourlong event felt casually effortless, funny, honest and sincere
Among other topics, they talked about Dunham’s career and family, writer’s block, fame, health, sobriety, communism and the art of filmmaking. Dunham also offered a thoughtful reflection on her generational-defining HBO series, “Girls,” which she admitted she has not revisited since the show’s finale nine years ago. She showed appreciation for the unique circumstances surrounding her artistic rise, regaling the audience stories of producer Judd Apatow going to bat for her ideas and explaining to her that things don’t usually work out so well for young artists.
By her own account, Dunham watches a lot of TV and realizes that a show with a premise as loose as “Girls’” would have a hard time getting made today. It’s “four friends, they’re having some issues, they’re not even really friends, they don’t really like each other, they’re mean to each other, and to other people. That’s the story.”
She went on to suggest, “There’s no way that ‘Girls’ would be greenlit today because now, virtually every show has to be like: she’s a girl … but she’s a ghost … also she’s a lawyer.”
After the talk, the delighted audience strolled across the Cornwall Village green to the library, where a book signing and reception kept everyone in good spirits long after dark.
“Famesick” is available now wherever books are sold.
