I’ve heard it all: too fat, too short, no talent. Those are the things that cut me deep when I was younger, but now they drive me.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
“You don’t stand a chance of succeeding as a writer in this country. The demographics are against you.” They were wrong. The only demographic that counts is the human heart.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 July 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 124 →There are yards and yards and yards of abuse every day. I ignore the lot of it.
I was thrown out of a club by bouncers when I walked into somebody and told them that I was registered blind. They said: “Don’t give a fuck – you don’t belong in here.” As a straight white man, it gives you a taste of what other people have to contend with.
Omid Djalili
British stand-up comedian and actor
"Which side shall I comb it over?"
More from Ben Okri
View profile →Looking after the flowerbed on my windowsill.
Worrying at things.
Evolve or perish.
Composer, pirate, scientist, philosopher.
A Dalí painting.
Alchemy. Love. Resilience.
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- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 205 answers
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- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 77 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 39 answers
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