An Interview with Peter Pouncey
Photo: Philippe Dollo
Very few knew it. Besides being a renowned scholar, university professor and college administrator, Peter Pouncey was always a writer. Even as Amherst College president he wrote often, finding it a “relaxing reprieve” from a demanding job. Over time, he accumulated roughly 2,000 pages of stories and sketches, which he kept in a wooden chest. With Rules for Old Men Waiting, Peter Pouncey established a new career and a new identity. These days, he calls himself a writer first.
About the Interviewer
Scott Turow ’70 is a writer and attorney. He is the author of eight best-selling works of fiction, including his first novel, Presumed Innocent (1987), and his most recent, Ordinary Heroes published by Farrar Straus & Giroux in November, 2005. He has also written two non-fiction books—One L, about his experience as a law student, and Ultimate Punishment, a reflection on capital punishment. Mr. Turow has been a partner in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, a national law firm, since 1986, concentrating on white-collar criminal defense, while also devoting a substantial part of his time to pro bono matters. He is also a past president of the Authors Guild, and is currently a Trustee of Amherst College.