Interview with Rex Parker

Michael Sharp, known to most crossword solvers as Rex Parker - King of CrossWorld, blogs daily about NYT Crossword puzzle. And a month ago, Rex, Orange and PuzzleGirl started L.A. Crossword Confidential.

When I read Rex's analysis of grids, the themes & the fills, I often think of Johnny Miller's observations on various golf shots. They are both so insightful, straightforward and authoritative. I can't imagine an US Open without Johnny Miller, and I can't imagine a crossword world without Rex.

Hope you enjoy the interview. Also, please take his advice and write to your local editor if you are happy about the puzzle change. We need to support Rich Norris.

What is your background? Where did you grow up and how did you become and English professor?

I grew up primarily in Fresno, CA. I was an English major in college, went straight to grad school thereafter, and then straight into a faculty position. Exciting, I know.

How did you get interested in solving crosswords and later on blogging about NYT puzzles? And what is a typical day like for you in terms of solving and then blogging?

My grandmother solved crosswords, and I remember watching her working them when I was young. I didn't get into them until I was in college, when I would solve them with friends (one in particular, who was a much better solver than I). Then when I quit smoking in grad school, I had no idea what I was supposed to do while sitting there drinking my coffee in the cafe, so I started solving the puzzle in the NYT - the cafe provided a free copy that customers could borrow. I solved in pen. I got better quickly.

I stopped solving for a few years at the end of grad school / beginning of my career, mainly because I had no access to a free paper. Then I discovered the online subscription option, and I was hooked again. I started blogging as a lark (no models, no idea what I was doing), and I haven't stopped since.

I tend to solve the puzzle just after it comes out online (generally 10pm the night before pub. date). I then print it out, mark it up with annotations, and then blog it in the morning, some time between 6 and 8 (but always by 9 Eastern).

Who are your favorite constructors and why? Also, who give you the most trouble and how do you overcome this fear factor (if you have any)?

Patrick Berry and Brendan Emmett Quigley and Byron Walden are among my very favorites. Liz Gorski is also exceedingly talented. All these constructors are master craftsmen (or women) and also have incredibly inventive minds. Their puzzles almost never leave me unsatisfied, and more often than not they do something marvelously unexpected. To do anything new or original in crosswords is very, very hard, and these folks seem to do it on a regular basis with elaborate or clever themes, inventive fill, etc. B.E. Quigley is particularly impressive because he is so prolific. 3 new puzzles a week at his own site, plus the ones he sells to newspapers, books, etc. His puzzles tend to be very, very contemporary - having his own website allows him to make and publish puzzles very quickly, which allows him to be very responsive to whatever is happening in the news or pop culture.

What's your overall impression of LAT puzzles? How are they different from NYT puzzles in terms of cluing styles and difficulty level?

I am developing a fondness for the LAT puzzles. It's hard for the LAT to compete for the best puzzles bec. the NYT pays so much more, but constructors love Rich Norris and since many of them are not exactly in it for the money, he still gets really good puzzles from people who just like working with him. I would say that Rich's puzzles are less tricksy - you do not see elaborate gimmicks or even rebus puzzles in the LAT - and I think Rich can be a little less picky about a wobbly answer here or there if he likes the overall premise of a puzzle. I enjoy both puzzles a lot. NYT is still the gold standard, but I think you are about to see the LAT up its game a bit. I think the demise of TMS puzzle means the LAT is getting more exposure, and with multiple blogs now covering the LAT, I think the bar is going to go up a bit. But it's already pretty high.

Can you tell us more about "L.A. Crossword Confidential"? How did you come up with this idea and the title?

Amy Reynaldo and I had been talking for well over a year about starting a dedicated LAT blog. We both have our own blogs and neither of us wanted to commit to the work involved in being sole owner of yet another xword blog. But after we heard the LAT was going to get far more exposure with the new syndication arrangement, we felt we finally had to act, and luckily our friend / guest blogger of choice Angela Halsted wanted in as well. It's a communal effort, it's aimed at educating casual solvers and novices, so that they will eventually be able to solve harder and harder puzzles with greater enjoyment. The whole arrangement is working out wonderfully.

What advice can you give to our fellow ex-TMS Daily solvers who are having trouble adjusting to Rich Norris's style?

Patience. Please please give the puzzle time to grow on you. I can tell you that the LAT is, objectively, in every way, a better puzzle than the former TMS puzzle, and better than any other daily puzzle out there besides the NYT. You will get used to Rich's cluing style, you will continue to learn from C.C's blog (and maybe ours, if you have time), and you will be a happy solver once again. And I'd like to implore anyone who is actually *happy* with the puzzle switch to Write Your Newspaper Editor and tell him/her. Because right now, they're hearing only from the complainers.

I know you are a passionate Red Sox fan and you love "The Simpsons". What else am I missing? What would people find one thing that's most surprising about you?

I'm a very open book. I doubt there is anything surprising. Sometimes people are surprised to hear that I teach literature in a maximum security prison (in addition to my regular university job). I have a massive collection of vintage (1939-69) paperback books. My house is drowning in comics (I'm a fan, and I teach a course on Comics at the U.). That's about it.

Thanks for taking the time to interview me.