Lynne Sherry McLean is a band member of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and also has blood ties to Alderville First Nations. A novelist and poet, Lynne writes with the voices of First Nations people as a constant melody line in her work. In Niagara, Lynne lives in a richly treed area on the shores of Lake Erie, and so feels “there is an abiding song from this Lady Earth dancing in my blood and I am compelled to express it in all that I do.” Her first novel, Where Mary Went (Theytus Books, 2010) was launched this September to a packed house at the St. Catharines Chapters.
In her answers to the Proust Questionnaire, Lynne tells us her greatest accomplishment, her motto, her idea of misery and more.
The Proust Questionnaire was not invented by Marcel Proust, but it was a much loved game by the French author and many of his contemporaries. The idea behind the questionnaire is that the answers are supposed to reveal the respondent's "true" nature.
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What is your dream of happiness?
To be a Happiness Ninja
What is your idea of misery?
To miss the happiness boat
Where would you like to live?
In the Here and Now
What qualities do you admire most in a man?
Loyalty
What qualities do you admire most in a woman?
Maternalness
What is your chief characteristic?
Vitality
What is your principal fault?
“…does not listen to instructions very well….”
What is your greatest extravagance?
Putting Cuba on my credit card
What faults in others are you most tolerant of?
Weirdness
What do you value most about your friends?
How much they love me
What characteristic do you dislike most in others?
When they don’t love me
What characteristic do you dislike most in yourself?
That I am messy
What is your favourite virtue?
That I am messy
What is your favourite occupation?
Writing
What would you like to be?
A rich and famous writer
What is your favourite colour?
Some days white, some days red, some days black
What is your favourite flower?
Dandelions—because you can make wine out of them and eat them, and they are good for your liver
What is your favourite bird?
Swans—they fly highest
What historical figure do you admire the most?
Gandhi
What character in history do you most dislike?
John from Pocahontas
Who are your favourite prose authors?
Chief Joseph, whose speeches inspired his people in their flight across the Rockies.
Who are your favourite poets?
Leonard Cohen
Who are your favourite heroes in fiction?
Superman
Who are your heroes in real life?
They adorn themselves in normal everyday clothing, and by day they occupy themselves with mostly mundane pastimes, but really their secret identities are that they are angels. Really, they are an angel-gang.
Who is your favourite painter?
Norval Morrisseau
Who is your favourite musician?
Buffy Sainte-Marie
What is your favourite food?
French fries
What is your favourite drink?
Jagermeister
What are your favourite names?
Timothy, Shawnee and Grace
What is it you most dislike?
The movie Terms of Endearment
What natural talent would you most like to possess?
Singing in tune
How do you want to die?
“….with a peaceful easy feeling….”
What is your current state of mind?
sexy
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
How I have played the cards that have been dealt to me.
What is your motto?
There is no such thing as a free lunch….unless you need one.
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