What's Up, Pussycat? - 08
Miriam Elder on epic solo travel in Russia, the power of grey, and the conundrum of sleeping with men
Welcome to What’s Up, Pussycat? Where we ask grown, self-possessed women to tell us about the various ways they access pleasure and enjoyment.
If you’re interested in participating, you can submit your own responses here for possible inclusion in upcoming Pussycat editions.
Miriam Elder is a journalist, writer, editor and a native New Yorker. She was a foreign correspondent in Russia for nearly a decade, including as the Moscow bureau chief for the Guardian. Miriam returned Stateside in 2013, where she became the founding world editor at BuzzFeed News. She then went on to be an executive editor at Vanity Fair. These days Miriam freelance edits big, important, smart books (if you are a person writing one, be in touch).
Important to my personal interests, she’s also my regular date to dive bars and diners and Manhattan town halls. The other day we went to the opera, which is an amalgamation of all three.
Below, Miriam tells us about the joys of grey hair, epic train trips across Russia, traveling for fruits and vegetables, and where in Manhattan she’d happily pay for a long soak and a massage.
Three Pleasurable Words To Describe You
Curious. Genuine. Martini-lover.
What's The Most Enjoyable Thing You've Done This Month?
I finally went to see Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was so excited to see her that I forgot to get excited about the Oscar Wilde aspect of it all, and the way his work comments perfectly on our age — from influencer culture to narcissism — hit so hard in the best way.
Best Beauty Advice? (Favorite Beauty Or Make-Up Essential?)
I spent the last couple years growing out my gray hair and it’s been amazing — liberating, fun, could not recommend more.
Best Solo Trip You've Ever Taken?
Once while I was living in Russia, I flew down to Sochi and took three weeks to get back to Moscow by train, stopping in a bunch of cities and towns along the way. It was summer, and I lived on peaches and almonds, a flavor combo that thrills me to this day. It wasn’t always easy, but I was never bored, and it was one of those formative early trips that made traveling solo an exciting lifelong thing for me.
