| Paris |
| Edith Piaf |
| Omara Portundo, "the Cuban Edith Piaf" |
| Charlie Pride, for songs like "Does my ring hurt your finger?" |
| paychecks |
| payphones that work |
| Precious Bane, by Mary Webb, because nobody has ever heard of it, and because it's about a woman with a harelip who finds true love even though her village thinks she's a witch; but her beloved knows that there's more to her than her harelip |
| Grace Paley |
| Charlie Parker |
| Dorothy Parker, for screenplays, poems, reviews, and quips like: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force" and "It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard." |
| Dolly Parton, because she writes her own music and has the best voice in country music |
| Marcel Proust |
| Pez dispensers |
| Pickles—half sour |
| The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James |
| The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce |
| picnics |
| Picasso |
| pie, but especially pecan pie |
| "Peer Gynt," by Edvard Grieg |
| Prince, as he's once again known |
| playing pool |
| Thomas Pynchon |
| Edgar Allen Poe |
| papier mâché—if you haven't tried it in a while, you should |
| "Paint it Black," by The Rolling Stones |
| Point Reyes, California |
| Arturo Perez-Reverte, a wonderful Spanish author of a few bestsellers |
| Richard Pryor |
| Louis Prima |
| Ann Patchett, author of The Magician's Assistant, a great novel about love, magic, and L.A. |
| Katherine Anne Porter |
| the Pogues |
| Francine Prose, for all her books and dry wit, including the new novel Blue Angel which skewers political correctness |
| The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver |
| The Pink Martinis |
| John Prine, especially the Duets album |
| Parenthood, with Steve Martin & Diane Wiest |
| Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion—the Jane Austen novels, and the BBC miniseries of the former and the 1995 film of the latter |
| The Philadelphia Story, with Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart |
| Walker Percy's The Moviegoer |
| Possession, by A.S. Byatt |
| The Police—the musical group, not the government agency |
| Giacomo Puccini, especially for Madame Butterfly |
| Alexander Pushkin |
| "Puff the Magic Dragon," by Peter, Paul & Mary |
