Interview Questions

from lidocafe

1. What contribution would you say your parents made to your personality?

Yikes. This one's pretty fraught. Partly it's Philip Larkin ("They fuck you up, your mum and dad..."). On the other hand, in my own defense, I think I learnt a lot of independence by default - having overprotective, super-stern parents made me push my own boundaries more than I might have. Having both parents continually saying "oh, no, you can't do that..." made me say "oh yeah? Watch me."

I also learned to appreciate the natural world from both parents, and a love of books from my mum.

However, if I am ever a little unkind and mocking of someone, I probably learned that from my dad.

2. What childhood friend do you remember best, and why?

My friend Peter. He was a little younger than I, one of three sons in a household two houses down from ours when we were living in Nanaimo. He was quirky and interesting, and loved dogs and the outdoors. I admired him because he could wrinkle his forehead and because he was always absolutely himself, despite peer pressure. He was killed in a motorcycle accident when we were both in our mid-twenties...

3. Who[m] would you choose to write your obituary?
Michael Ondaatje

4. How do you feel when you sing?
Full of light and joy.

5. If you were a tree, what kind of . . . no, I hate those kinds of questions. Instead, I shall ask, If you found you had been transformed into a tree, what would you miss most about being what you were before?

Actually, I'd be a willow. I'd like the sense of peace and permanence and one-ness with the wind and the sun and the stars. I'd enjoy having birds coming and going in my branches.

I'd probably miss the power of speech the most.