On Demand
Graydon Carter Does Proust
Thursday, November 05, 2009
For decades, the back page of Vanity Fair has been devoted to the "Proust Quiz," the same series of questions answered by celebrities and politicians. Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair discusses the highlights, which have been compiled in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire: 101 Luminaries Ponder Love, Death, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life, out now.
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I did the quiz a few days ago and scored a mid-90's percent match with Joan Didion. The only Didion I've ever read was "Play It As It Lays", which had me considering suicide. I've avoided her writing ever since. It worries me that I matched her so closely.
Also used by James Lipton at Inside the Actors Studio.
"... a little while alone in your room will prove more valuable than anything else that could ever be given you." -Rumi
I read "The Year of Magical Thinking", the only Joan Didion I've ever read, and nearly killed myself!
Brutally depressing!
I am most comfortable around men who are a bit feminine and women who are a bit masculine.
I would like to die before my husband. It doesn't matter how.
My favorite names are Fern for a girl and Henry for a boy.
Let me add, "PLay it as it lays" is a remarkably beautiful, powerful book. I just don't want to be that comfortable with the dark side of life.
I most deplore tardiness in myself, and fear in others.
How I want to die: Have a big party for my 100th birthday; then go for a jog the next day, not tell anyone where I'm going, and just run and run and run until I drop; cuz after a good run, I feel the most exhilarated and equally like I could sleep forever.
A good friend of mine always said that he would like to die by an angry mob.
When im old and sick I want to have a 'death pary' and say good bye to all my friends and family. when its over i want to walk off into the woods alone. I would have supplies to last at least a week. Then when the supplies run out and the pain sets in i want to overdose on heroin. and my body to melt into the dirt.
I just got Joan Didion as well. 91%. Does everyone get Joan Didion?
When asked about dying, I always remember the Mad Magazine cartoon showing the crowd of people riding a rollercoaster, the 'panels' showing the smiles as they leave the platform then the stressed faces as the cars plummet, noting the one face that continues to smile,
finally showing the hearse taking the guy away, smiling.
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