The Road More Traveled

This Week's Look Book: Kaavya Viswanathan

The Look Book- Kaavya Viswanathan, Overachiever/Overplagiarist


















What do you do?
Well, until recently, I was just your average Indian-American Harvard student/author of a book on several bestseller lists. But one day last week, things started to go awry. There were these plagiarism accusations...and I'll tell you, I don't ever want to feel like I did that day. I said to myself, "I am beautiful no matter what they say. Words can't bring me down," but my mind starting playing these foolish games, and they're tearing me apart. All this negativity in my head, in my head, zombie! Zombie! Zombie! It's like, flies in the vaseline we are. Sometimes it blows my mind, and it's totally insane in the brain. I mean, it's not confidential- I've got potential rushing around! I guess I had a bad day, and I'm taking one down, but I'll sing a sad song and I'll turn it around. Still, I wish the real world would just stop hassling me.

What are you doing today?
Today? Today is totally awesome, it's like the greatest day I've ever known! Can't live for tomorrow, tomorrow's much too long. Besides, tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. So I might go bowling or something.

Where do you live?
On the dark side of the moon, usually. Sometimes with my parents. Hopefully, if i can get over this hump, this hump this hump this hump this hump, I'll get my own place.

What are you wearing today?
I am wearing an Indian top with jeans so that there will be no mistake among New York Times readers as to my cultural background. I don't want them to see me and think I'm like, Puerto Rican or something. There's all kinds of weird confusion these days. I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night. So it's like, I'm trying to simplify and stuff.

Do you have hobbies apart from writing?
I enjoy mime, lithography, Xerox-ing, vocal impersonation, shopping on Canal Street, designing clothes for H&M and ABS, transcription, and watching DNA replicate

A Jane-of-all-trades, in other words?
That is well said, replied Candide...um, I mean, replied ME, but we must cultivate our garden.

posted by She-Ra, Princess of Power @ 5:31 PM