In its third year, In Conversation brings together seasoned interviewer André Bernard, former Vice President of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, with innovative thinkers and influential voices whose contributions shape our culture today. Crossing the fields of politics, journalism, social science, and the arts, these conversations will explore fresh perspectives that spark curiosity and ignite new ways of thinking about the world.  

Adam Gopnik
Staff Writer of The New Yorker and author of All That Happiness Is
Thursday, June 26, 5:00 pm

Since 1986, Adam Gopnik’s fiction, criticism, book reviews, essays, and foreign correspondence have helped define the voice of The New Yorker. He is also the author of numerous books, most recently All That Happiness Is (W.W. Norton, 2024), a slim volume exploring society’s obsession with achievement. Crossing generations, the pressure to achieve has wide–sweeping effects, from students being tested to get into the best schools to adults seeking the highest-paying, most prestigious jobs. Gopnik likens achievement to being ensnared by a maze with no way out. His solution: choose accomplishment over achievement. Accomplishments are the result of activities pursued for their own sake. In All That Happiness Is, Gopnik draws on the stories of artists, philosophers, scientists, and his own fumbling attempts to play the guitar to explore the ways that self-directed passions—or accomplishments—lead to a sense of fulfillment and, ultimately, happiness. 

Adam Gopnik has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1986. During his tenure, he has written fiction, humor, criticism, book reviews, personal essays, Profiles, and reported pieces from abroad. He was the magazine’s art critic from 1987 to 1995 and the Paris correspondent from 1995 to 2000. From 2000 to 2005, he wrote a journal about New York life, and since then has been the magazine’s chief critic-at-large. His books, ranging from essay collections about Paris and food to children’s novels, include Paris to the Moon (2000), The King in the Window (2005), Through the Children’s Gate: A Home in New York (2006), Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life (2009), The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food (2011), Winter: Five Windows on the Season (2011), At the Strangers’ Gate: Arrivals in New York (2017), A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism (2019), The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery (2023), and most recently All That Happiness Is (2024). Gopnik has been the recipient of numerous awards , including the Legion d’honneur from the French Republic and election to the American Academy of Arts & Letters. In 2017, his musical, Our Table, opened at the Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven), and his first one-man storytelling show, The Gates, played at the Public Theatre (New York). A new one, “Adam Gopnik’s New York,” opens at Lincoln Center in May 2025.

Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

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General Admission:
$27 – Mount Members
$32 – Non-Members

*New* Rain or Shine Ticket:
$37 – Mount Members
$42 – Non-Members

Individual Rain or Shine Tickets guarantee admission to a program regardless of weather conditions. For a modest increase in the ticket cost, you are guaranteed a seat at events that need to be moved indoors to The Mount’s Stable Auditorium. General Admission tickets are available for each event as well; however, in the event of inclement weather — excessive heat or severe thunderstorms — you are not guaranteed a seat. General Admission tickets will be canceled and refunded if weather conditions prohibit us from hosting an event outside.

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• This one-hour talk takes place in The Mount’s Event Tent, an open-air, two-pole tent adjacent to the parking lot. Please be mindful of the weather and plan accordingly!
• In the event of extreme weather — excessive heat or severe thunderstorms — In Conversation talks may be moved indoors to The Mount’s Stable Auditorium. Rain or Shine Tickets guarantee admission to this program regardless of location! All ticketholders will be notified via email of a venue change at 2:00 pm the day of the program. Those with standard admission tickets will have their orders automatically canceled and receive full refunds within seven business days.
• Seating for all programs at The Mount is first come, first served. If you have seating preferences, we recommend arriving fifteen minutes early.
• Accessible seating is available! Please phone us in advance to discuss arrangements: 413-551-5111; ext. #2
• A book signing will follow this talk. Books can be purchased from The Mount Bookstore at the event or online from Bookshop.org.

Questions? Email: programs@edithwharton.org

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What accessibility accommodations does The Mount offer? The Mount is a Massachusetts Cultural Council UP designated organization welcoming participants of all disabilities. Please contact us by phone: 413-551-5100 or by email: info@edithwharton.org to discuss accommodations needed to participate fully in this event. Golf carts will be available to shuttle those with mobility concerns between the parking lot and event venue. View The Mount’s Health and Safety Guidelines.