We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony Mohr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I always felt the need to write, starting at an early age. There something about putting words on the page, no matter how silly they were. I just kept going with no particular goal in mind. Come high school, journalism called, and now that’s morphed into creative nonfiction with a bit of fiction thrown in.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a recovering lawyer and a retired judge. For 27 great years, I sat on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles, and I still serve there on a part time basis. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had, far superior to practicing law. As for law school: what they say is right: the first year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death, and the third year they bore you to death. I escaped much of the third year by taking courses in the college, good ones like movies and contemporary youth movements. My hardest challenge was clerking for a federal judge who turned out to be a lazy, ill-tempered bigot. But even that became a learning experience. By his actions, he showed me what not to do on the bench.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The beach, the Getty, Case Study 22, Watts Towers, the Polo Lounge, the Wende Museum, Sunset Strip, Wil Rogers Park, Tree People, the canyons, Valley Relics Museum, Academy Museum, Chateau Marmont, Magic Castle, one of the studios — doesn’t matter which — the length of Grand Avenue, the flats of Beverly Hills, Catalina Island, Barneys Beanery, Tommy’s Hambugers, Gladstones, Back on the Beach, and make sure you travel the length of Mulholland Drive, slowly in order to drink in the views.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
All sorts of people deserve a shout out, from my high school journalism teacher to the creative writing workshops I’ve attended (Community of Writers, Kenyon Review, Sirenland), to my wonderful editors Leslie Schwartz and Sarah Einstein and the many literary journal editors I’ve worked with. Also, thanks to Koehler Books, who published my memoir Every Other Weekend–Coming of Age With Two Different Dads. Their editors were also first rate. And most important; my wife Beverly, who’s always been there with love and a smile

Website: https://www.anthonyjmohr.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-mohr-5b0169213/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anthony.mohr.961

Image Credits
myself, steve Dashew

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