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Paul Lewis, at the Wounded Bookshop on Amelia St. in downtown Fredericskburg. |
On the Spot looks beyond regular newsmakers to highlight the varied residents who make the Fredericksburg community what it is.
Paul Lewis, 40, of Fredericksburg is director of the Fredericksburg Athenaeum, a nonprofit literary space dedicated to "arts, literature, philosophy, sciences and technology through education, formal and informal exchange and dialogue, to the benefit of those living in the Rappahannock River region and the global community of shared interests," according to its mission statement.
The space, which includes the Wounded Bookshop, is on Amelia Street in downtown Fredericksburg.
Besides running the athenaeum, Lewis said his real job is much simpler.
"I consider myself a reader. That's my occupation."
For more on the Athenaeum and the bookshop, log on to http://www.woundedbookshop.com/.
What's the secret to life?
It's a daily work process. It is what it is, and we celebrate it. Not a lot of looking forward or looking back.
What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
An afternoon driving into the Shenandoah Valley looking for books.
Bush, Kerry or someone else?
It's gonna be Kerry. I just identify with his view of America a little more than Bush's.
What one thing would you change about the area?
I'd keep as much of it rural as I could. But that's a pie in the sky idea.
How do you want to be remembered?
Good friend, good father, good husband.
What's the best book you've read lately?
'Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man,' by Siegfried Sassoon. It's some of the best prose of the last 100 years.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
My father told me to follow you’re heart and work hard.
Who do you most admire?
My wife and my children.
What was your first memorable concert?
Elvis Costello. Providence Civic Center, 1983 or '82. It was great.
What book character would you become if you could?
Christopher Tietjen [from Ford Maddox Ford's 'Parade's End']. Except for the memory loss, shell-shock and the tragedy part.
