Bonnie Georgette Hamlett | The Wilder-Proust Questionnaire

With the 3rd International Thornton Wilder Conference just around the corner, scholars, friends and fans of TW answer 7 short questions, giving us a window into their Wilderian identities: Bonnie Georgette Hamlett is a senior English major and minors in Creative Writing at Salem College in North Carolina, where she is a recipient of the Jess Byrd Merit Scholarship and has been a counselor/teacher at Clyde Elementary School. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in either playwriting or English. At the Thornton Wilder Conference, Bonnie will take part in a session on The Skin of Our Teeth along with Park Bucker of University of South Carolina, Sumter, and Stephen Rojcewicz, Independent Scholar, chaired by Matthew Maguire of Fordham University.  This session will take place on Thursday, July 12 at 3:15 p.m. at the Monadnock Center in Peterborough, NH.  Reservations available here.

1. What is your favorite Wilder quote?

"I am not afraid of life. I will astound it."

-Nascuntur Poetae...

2. What is your favorite Wilder work? 

The Skin of Our Teeth will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first work of his I read back when I was a senior in high school before I knew anything about Thornton Wilder. It wasn't until a few years later a returned to it for study and completely fell in love with it all over again.

3. Describe Wilder in three adjectives. 

Visionary, Thoughtful, Clever

4. With which Wilder character do you most identify / which character do you find is most like you?

The optimist in me wants to say Emily, but the realist knows I'm more like Sabina.

5. Who is your favorite Wilder hero or antihero?

Dolly Levi. I love her resourcefulness and charisma. She's a wonderful character and woman in charge of her own story.

6. Who is your favorite fictional Wilder woman?

I have to say Sabina. She is such an exciting character with fascinating dialogue and interaction on stage. She also has a complexity about her which makes her more than a comical or stereotypical figure.

7. What is Wilder's best love scene?

Obviously the ladder scene between Emily and George in Our Town; it's a classic for a reason. It reminds us of the innocence and childlike wonder of falling in love, and it's such a gorgeous moment to watch on stage.