Edmund Valentine White, 85, is a monumental figure in the L.G.B.T.Q.+ literary community—so much so that an award named in his honor is bestowed upon a debut queer novelist annually. Unsurprisingly, the omnivorous writer (think: novels, memoirs, plays, biographies, and essays) has won plenty of accolades himself, most notably the National Book Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement award. An Illinois native, a young White ditched a postgraduate program at Harvard to follow his lover to New York—a city he’s called home since 1962. Now his new book, The Loves of My Life, recounts his “thousands” of past lovers, whom he met everywhere from the Stonewall Inn to the gay-dating app Grindr. To celebrate the memoir’s publication, White shares his key components to the good life. —Carolina de Armas
Airline: Safe.
Airport: Orderly.
Alibi: Convincing.
App: Efficient.
Bag: Right size.
Bedtime: Later and later.
Bike: Three-wheeled.
Birthday: Fun.
Boyfriend/girlfriend: Even-tempered.
