Intake Interview

by Franz Wright


What is today's date?

Who is the President?

How great a danger do you pose, on a scale of one to ten?

What does "people who live in glass houses" mean?

Every symphony is a suicide postponed, true or false?

Should each individual snowflake be held accountable for the
avalanche?

Name five rivers.

What do you see yourself doing in ten minutes?

How about some lovely soft Thorazine music?

If you could have half an hour with your father, what would you
say to him?

What should you do if I fall asleep?

Are you still following in his mastodon footsteps?

What is the moral of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"?

What about his Everest shadow?

Would you compare your education to a disease so rare no one
else has ever had it, or the deliberate extermination
of indigenous populations?

Which is more puzzling, the existence of suffering or its frequent
absence?

Should an odd number be sacrificed to the gods of the sky, and an
even to those of the underworld, or vice versa?

Would you visit a country where nobody talks?

What would you have done differently?

Why are you here?

Comments

  1. Now, that is food for thought!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What is today's date?

    Thursday, October 1, 2009 5:07am PST
    Thursday, October 1, 2008 2:07pm French Time


    Who is the President?

    Barak Obama, USA
    Nicholas Sarkozy, France



    How great a danger do you pose, on a scale of one to ten?

    Today, to myself = 3 To others = 3
    These numbers may vary depending upon innumerable factors...


    What does "people who live in glass houses" mean?

    They should own stock in Windex, most assuredly.

    Every symphony is a suicide postponed, true or false?

    True. Unless the symphony is the soundtrack to the suicide. In which case, false.

    Should each individual snowflake be held accountable for the avalanche?

    No. That should be credited to global warming, or butterflies flapping their wings in Amazonia.

    Name five rivers.

    1)The River of No Return; 2) Cry Me A River; 3)Moon River; 4)I'm Goin' Down To The River, Gonna Get Me A Rockin' Chair, And If The Lord Don't Help Me, I'm Gonna Rock Away From Here; 5)A River Runs Through It.

    What do you see yourself doing in ten minutes?

    Blahging as if my life depended on it.

    How about some lovely soft Thorazine music?

    My favorite kind. If you've got some, you could save me loads on tranqs.

    If you could have half an hour with your father, what would you say to him?

    Things most likely would have been different if your mother had not died in a tuberculosis ward in El Paso, Texas in June '33 when you were only 1yr 9mos old and your brother was 4mos old.

    What should you do if I fall asleep?

    Stand guard.

    Are you still following in his mastodon footsteps?

    Nah. I gave it up and started following my impulses.

    What is the moral of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"?

    Lambs are woman's best friend.

    What about his Everest shadow?

    What is the moral of his Everest shadow?

    Would you compare your education to a disease so rare no oneelse has ever had it, or the deliberate extermination of indigenous populations?

    I'd compare it to a soufflé that fell rather than rose.

    Which is more puzzling, the existence of suffering or its frequent absence?

    It's frequent absence. Definitely. Leading to the philosophical theory of "Le meilleure du pire" or "The Best of the Worst," in translation.

    Should an odd number be sacrificed to the gods of the sky, and an even to those of the underworld, or vice versa?

    "Vice versa, for sure.

    Would you visit a country where nobody talks?

    "If the one-eyed (wo)man is king is the land of the blind," would that make me Queen in the country where nobody talks? Because currently I'm only considered verbose. Queen would be a step up. So, if I can be Queen there, yes, I would visit a country where nobody talks!

    What would you have done differently?

    I would have individuated sooner and more thoroughly.

    Why are you here?

    Why indeed? Partly because I have a girl crush on my Distracted friend. Partly because I can't resist a quiz. Partly because I have my habits.

    Nice poem.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'Every symphony is a suicide postponed, true or false?'

    Just the good ones. The bad ones are more like bowel movements postponed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow. Can't do better (or as well) as that poem (or those answers!). If "every symphony is a suicide postponed"--which it might be--then what is every poem?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I need to write this one down and really answer them, i think, for myself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Distracted, aren't you lucky to have such wonderful people who come to comment here; like the Framéricaine... ! (Dear Fram, excellent answer, the only thing I might add would be to the list of rivers... how about Joni Mitchell's song in which she sings in the most haunting voice imaginable : I wish I had a river, to skate away on...)

    ReplyDelete
  7. The moral to Mary Had a Little Lamb? I think it's something about leaving Jesus at home when you go to school...or out into the real world.

    I never thought of that before...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

Popular posts from this blog

A Year with EB White

The Poet Goes to Indiana by Mary Oliver

Goldfinches by Mary Oliver