Colson Whitehead: If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be?

The question

If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

Verbatim recurring item in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Colson Whitehead

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Best to leave things alone. Pull things out, it all comes down. I’m Jenga like that.

The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 18 July 2023 source ↗

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George Saunders Short-story writer and novelist

I’d like to have a more generous, less anxious mind.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 25 January 2023 source ↗

Laverne Cox

Thinking that I am not enough or not beautiful the way I am. That thinking is super-dangerous.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 11 June 2018 source ↗

Monica Lewinsky

How my PTSD manifests—it feels like being the only ballerina in the company saddled with a 100-pound backpack and told to go out onstage and still be graceful.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 12 August 2021 source ↗

Ed Koch

I would like to be more accepting of the faults of others.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 22 January 2013 source ↗

More from Colson Whitehead

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Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

Opening day of The Empire Strikes Back, 86th Street Loews.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2023 source ↗

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Enough with the constant smiling.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2023 source ↗

Question Which quality in your friends matters most to you? Relationships

They’ll help me dump a body off the turnpike.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 18 July 2023 source ↗

Question What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? Identity & self

I’m walking down the street angrily muttering to myself and then I run into a neighbor or former coworker and they catch me in this moment of private-public expression. It’s nice to be seen sometimes.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 18 July 2023 source ↗

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