Thursday, October 01, 2009

Proust Questionnaire Thursday! Today's Special Guest: Jill Wolfson!

Jill Wolfson is the author of several award-winning novels, including What I Call Life; Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies; and her newest book, Cold Hands, Warm Heart, the summary of which begins, "Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body." How can you not want to read this book? And remember that cartoon about the boy whose organs were on the outside of his body? I wonder if he ever paid a visit to the Indiana Sand Dunes. But I digress... Visit Jill on the web at jillwolfson.com.

The following questions are based on James Lipton's questions from Inside the Actors Studio, which, in turn, are based on the Proust Questionnaire. One of the questions is about swearing, so please excuse our French.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Jill Wolfson!

1. What is your favorite word?
Right now, it’s “absquatulate.” I love the sound of it and its whimsical origins. It dates to the American Midwest in the 1800s when people were coining lots of these funny-sounding, pseudo-Latin, high-sounding words, like skedaddle and discombobulate. Absquatulate means to depart in a hurry and probably brings together the prefix ab-, "away from," with a base of squat – to sit. Very creative. Okay, I’m going to absquatulate from this question now. On to the next!

2. What is your least favorite word?
Pustule. I have no particular aversion to medical terminology. I love psoriasis and cadaver, for example. But pustule makes me cringe.
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Being in tune with the belly laugh at the center of the universe.

4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Anything done purely for cash or fame.

5. What sound or noise do you love? Silence.

6. What sound or noise do you hate? Too much silence. My own thoughts drive me crazy. Turn up the music!

7. What is your favorite curse word? Kish mir in tuchis. (Kiss my ass in Yiddish). I heard it my entire childhood.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Captain of an intergalactic space craft

9. What profession would you not like to do? President of any country existing today

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Thank goodness, you finally understood what I was trying to tell you! It took long enough."

Next Thursday's author: Jay Asher!

2 comments:

craftysunday said...

that's inside out boy. he swung too high over the bar of the swings at recess, and voila! inside out.

i'm reading your blog, because apparently i don't have enough school reading to do!

:) mindi

Julie H said...

Yes! Inside Out Boy! Nice. And gross! Thanks for reading :)