William F. Buckley, though she did not agree with Buckley. Early career After being expelled from high school, Lebowitz earned her certificate of high school equivalency. When she was 18, her parents sent her to live with her aunt in Poughkeepsie, New York. She stayed for six months, and then in 1969 moved to New York City. Her father agreed to pay for her first two months in the city on the condition that she live at the women's-only Martha Washington Hotel. She then stayed with friends in New York apartments and Boston college dormitories, surviving by writing papers for students. At age 20, she rented a West Village apartment. To support herself, she worked as a cleaner, chauffeur, taxi driver and pornography writer. Lebowitz refused to wait tables because she claimed that sexual intercourse with the manager was a prerequisite for hiring at many restaurants. At age 21, Lebowitz worked for Changes, a small magazine "about radical-chic politics and culture" founded by Susan Graham Ungaro, the fourth wife of Charles Mingus. She sold advertising space, and then wrote book and movie reviews. Andy Warhol then hired Lebowitz as a columnist for Interview, where she wrote a column called "I Cover the Waterfront". Then came a stint at Mademoiselle. During these years, she made friends with many artists, including Peter Hujar, whom she met in 1971, and Robert Mapplethorpe, who often gave her photos, many of which she threw away in the 1970s. In 1978, her first book, Metropolitan Life, was published. The book was a set of comedic essays mostly from Mademoiselle and Interview, with titles such as "Success Without College" and "A Few Words on a Few Words". She often detailed things that she found irksome or frustrating in a dry, sardonic tone. After its publication, Lebowitz became a local celebrity, frequenting Studio 54 and appearing on television. This was followed by Social Studies (1981), another collection of comedic essays mostly from Mademoiselle and Interview, in which she explored topics such as teenagers, films, and room service. Years later, The Fran Lebowitz Reader (1994) was published, which included both books. Writer's block and public persona Since the mid-1990s, Lebowitz has been known for her decades-long writer's block. Her last published book was Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas (1994), a children's book about giant pandas living in New York City who long to move to Paris.