✨Exclusive✨ my Proust Questionnaire
oop, i proust myself: featuring my Vanity Fair caricature!
a continuous mix of shows, books, articles + more worth raving about
this week: I feature ME answering the Proust Questionnaire because I’m in my introspection era. Scroll to b2b to hear Black British Music.
I always loved reading the Proust Questionnaire in a hard copy of Vanity Fair. It’s probably the reason I still flip through magazines from back to front1. Maybe we should all start asking ourselves these questions. Once a quarter? 😆 Self check-in’s to bolster identity and all that good good.
I hope you’re getting a laugh outta my caricature (in the style of Vanity Fair). She does look like me. See footnotes2 for the rather bland selfie I used to prompt ChatGPT.
I hope this entertains and encourages you to consider what your answers to Proust Questionnaire are. Here we go:
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Reading in the sun with a favorite pair of sunglasses and no itinerary (lolol i’m disappointed by how horrendously basic i sound here but it’s the simple things folx! what do you want me to do, lie?!? on my proust?!)
What is your greatest fear? Being broke again
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? She can be cold and avoidant
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Up-their-own-ass arrogance… the worst types of people!
Which living person do you most admire? Patti Smith has had a pretty sick life so far and knows/knew all the coolest people. OOhh and also Kim Gordon!!!!
What is your greatest extravagance? Luxuriating in the ball out required to even breathe air in NYC. Luckily, I never go out anymore otherwise, meaning 💸💸 hotel, car services, drinks, food! 💸💸 Soon I wanna start taking solo trips to new places.
What is your current state of mind? Wisening…?
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Patience. Cuz how many things actually turned out to be worth the wait?
On what occasion do you lie? Some might say not enough.
What do you most dislike about your appearance? I’m too short for society.
Which living person do you most despise? i mean, eww, we know who.
What is the quality you most like in a man? Sometimes they smell gooood. Other times, they help me zoom out of my overly analytical worries.
What is the quality you most like in a woman? Mutual emotional intuiting makes things easy, breezy.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I asked friends this a while back and they said, “Really?” is my thing (To which I said, “Really? Oh, really?”). I also say “That’s so deadass” a lot. But it’s become something I mainly say on my own, talking to myself out loud or in my head, like when I’m listening to a podcast or reading something. I’m not around people anymore that I can say it to, no questions asked. Maybe I should start speaking how I wanna speak, no matter the audience? I’m too good at blending to my surroundings (survival tactic?).
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My zines
When and where were you happiest? Hard to say. My brain blocked out a lot of traumatic events. And if I reached my happiest, then I didn’t appreciate it enough. So, my official answer: still pending.
Which talent would you most like to have? I wanna be a touring musician. Or maybe one step more glamorous than that haha. Essentially, my talent would be ability to play music, so I could tour the world with friends but be fame-free.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Be less impulsive when it comes to anger and spending money
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Oh, hell. Surviving!
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? Rooted & chillin, you won’t know I’m there (until I’m shading you, ha!). A tree, obviously.
Where would you most like to live? I ask myself this every two weeks!
What is your most treasured possession? my dome! 🧠
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being too scared to keep it real with yourself and those you love. Fear is trash.
What is your favorite occupation? Fooling myself into escaping the every day, through reading, listening to music, writing.
Who are your favorite writers? Min Jin Lee: Pachinko, Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer, Haruki Murakami, Lauren Groff, Patricia Lockwood, Lucia Berlin,….
Who is your hero of fiction? The anti-hero.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? I was reading about Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, multidisciplinary or “intergenre” artist and author of genre-blending book Dictee. In her visual art she was never neatly categorized into one discipline. I relate to people who are outsiders in some way. With Cha, I understand the feeling of not fitting into one easy box. On a personal level, of course, and in making zines too.
Zines are usually formed around a a niche topic (punk music, fanzines) but mine doesn’t. 8 issues in, it’s clear HECK exists as its own world, and I’m enough of a common thread to have built that world. To potential zinemakers: you don’t need to be like thousands of zines out there, who write on a singular, thematic topic.
Cha’s use of many mediums ended up making her legacy more compelling. A good reminder to express yourself how you want to, hodgepodge the shit outta the shit! DO YOU!
Who are your heroes in real life? I never think about heroes, is that bad? Oh, no. Is this answer exposing too much about me?! Oh, Proust!
What are your favorite names? Umm… The RZA, The GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef! U-God! Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, and the M.E.T.H.O.D. Man 😏 👐
What is it that you most dislike? The general decline of empathy and increase in closeminded-ness. And the feeling that everyone is in it for themselves, kindness be damned. UGH!
What is your greatest regret? Putting waaaay too many dudes on pedestals for inane reasons. LIKE!!!!!—
How would you like to die? Wearing my favorite lip gloss-balm of the moment with my eyebrows perfectly penciled in for once!
What is your motto? “It’s… whatever.”
Now, dear reader: Which of the Proust questions do you most wish to be asked and what is your answer?
back 2 back music bumps for the soul
Jim Legxacy - father
Jim Legxacy’s debut album is coming and it’s called Black British Music. I love the video look, the song, the Mitski shoutout, and Jim’s playful, cool, wiser than his years attitude. His website is designed like the Blackberry pictured below. I never had a father, father.
His recent single “Stick” dropped in April and also goes.
it was (is?) on the last page of every issue
notice how chatgpt replaced my lopsided hair with full volume! FTW!
