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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.

Others on this question

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Gloria Steinem Writer and feminist organiser
I would love to have a good memory. I’m at an age when remembering something right away is as good as an orgasm.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 24 September 2020 source ↗
I would erase my fear of dying, but I suppose that would be erasing some of my human condition.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 18 February 2025 source ↗

More from Patti Smith

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Question What counsel would you give your twenty-year-old self — and what should they ignore? Time & hindsight
Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises. Don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work and protect your work. […] Protect your work and if you build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency.
Recorded Christian Lund, Louisiana Literature festival, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 24 August 2012, Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 24 August 2012 source ↗

More on identity & self

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Danielle Steel, George Saunders, Carrie Fisher, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen Fry, Elmore Leonard

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