Q&A with John Jenkins
John A. Jenkins, author of ”The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist,” has been writing from Washington, D.C., about the law and lawyers since 1971, when, shortly before his graduation from the University of Maryland College of Journalism, he went to work as a reporter covering the Justice Department for the prominent legal publisher BNA (now Bloomberg BNA). Four years later, his magazine writing career began with a series of investigative articles about the legal profession for the Washington Monthly. His work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, and many other newspapers and national magazines in the United States and abroad. As a longtime Washington publishing executive, he built the textbook and reference publishing enterprise of Congressional Quarterly and created First Street, a revolutionary political intelligence tool for tracking money and influence in politics. He is the recipient of four Certificates of Merit from the American Bar Association Gavel Awards, one of the highest honors in legal journalism.
Have you been to the D.C. area before? What’s your favorite thing about it?
I was born in DC, have lived there since 1978, and I’ve called the Washington area “home” for my entire life. But there is much more to this story: I actually grew up in — Gaithersburg! Wait, there’s even more….the current mayor of Gaithersburg, Sidney Katz, sat next to me in home room all through junior high and high school! We were classmates. Mayor Sid tells me he will be introducing me at the festival. We are both living headlines for the story, “Local Boy Makes Good,” just like out of some Norman Rockwell illustration. So this will be a real homecoming for me. I haven’t been back to Gaithersburg in 33 years. Looking forward to it. I am wondering whether I will be placed in the “Sons of Gaithersburg” tent. That might be a pretty small tent, though.
Favorite thing about DC?
Well, even when I was young, I wanted to be reporter covering law and politics — go figure — so as a place to work Washington is as perfect as anything could possibly be. And as a place to live it’s just one of the best cities in the world, a real cultural mecca with a very European feel.
What are the best books you’ve read recently?
I’m reading memoirs now because I am thinking about tackling that genre. I just finished “A Ticket to the Circus,” by Norris Church Mailer. She published it in 2010, just before she died, and a few years after the death of her husband, Normal Mailer. It’s poignant, just very touching and genuine. I know I’ve had a good read if I’m actually sorry when the book comes to an end. That’s how I felt about her story.
What’s the most challenging aspect of being a writer?
Ha! What’s not challenging about being a writer, particularly these days when the publishing industry is roiling. For me, a big issue is always time: not enough of it to meet whatever deadline I’m facing. Not long ago, I heard another author refer to the dedication he intended to use in his next book: “I’d like to thank my three children, without whom I would have written at least three more books!” That kind of sums up one of the biggest challenges of being a writer.
