Monday, December 18, 2006

the proust questionnaire

how many times have you received an e-mail sent to all your correspondent's dearest friends asking you to answer questions about yourself then pass on the message to your own nearest and dearest?

it turns out that this is not an internet phenomenon, but has been parlour entertainment since at least the 19th century. a random article that i found notes:

"In the back pages of Vanity Fair each month, readers find The Proust Questionnaire, a series of questions posed to famous subjects about their lives, thoughts, values and experience. A regular reference to Proust in such a major publication struck me as remarkable, and it was only until I'd read Andre Maurois's Proust: Portrait of a Genius that I understood what this was all about. The young Marcel was asked to fill out questionnaires at two social events: one when he was 13, another when he was 20. Proust did not invent this party game; he is simply the most extraordinary person to respond to them."

for the rest of p. segal's notes, and the english version of the questions proust received and his answers, click here

the only question i can think of at the moment is could it possibly possibly be possible for england to last out the whole day and not lose the 3rd test and the ashes? come on freddie and kevin - hang in there!

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