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Smoking With Astrid Schott

(Read the Story) September 15, 2005

Astrid Schott

Art by Marty D. Ison

Astrid. Is there really a Winterfeldplatz? What’s it like?

Randall. Yes there really is. It is roughly the size of a soccer field, bordered by a church, a playground, a puppet-theater and a bunch of bars, restaurants and cafés with customers of very mixed nationality and sexual orientation. There is a nice market twice weekly and on the other days you can watch the crowd of inline hockey players, skateboarders, passersby, blue dogs or children from a snack bar which used to be a public restroom.

“Bring the beer.” A good mantra. Would you mind sharing your own mantra(s)?

“Wenn schon, denn schon” could be translated as: “if at all — then go for it!” And “How does this look from the other side?”

You seem so wise in the ways of love. How did you get to be The Love Sage?

I think this is a misconception. The story by the way is not about love. “The love sage.” I have to tell my husband—in case he has not found out yet.

What made Astrid a writer? (And a really gosh darn good one.)

I had storage problems in my head.

Where in the world is Astrid these days? Having fun? Miss any of your old haunts?

I am living in Berlin, Germany, and dreaming of new destinations. I am having fun but keep some boxes unpacked. I miss my father, who died this winter(ok, sorry Didi, you are not an old haunt). I long for the future.

About the Author

Astrid Schott is a 42 year old MD and writer from Berlin, Germany, stranded in NJ to work as a cancer scientist for a pharmaceutical company. She writes short stories, poems and flash fiction. She lives with her husband and 2 children in Wayne, NJ. This year she started writing in English.

About the Artist

A native of Ohio, Marty D. Ison lives with his wife transplanted in the sands of the Gulf of Mexico. He studied fine arts at Saint Petersburg College. In addition to the visual arts, he writes poetry, short stories, and novels. See more of Ison’s work here.

This interview appeared in Issue Ten of SmokeLong Quarterly.
SmokeLong Quarterly Issue Ten
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