Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Come on, hurry! Don't worry about your luggage; we'll take care of it. In the meantime, please hop on the elevator, it's going up. Ah, we have stopped at the first floor. The hallway feels dark and is surrounded by sadness, perhaps because of the circumstances under which the death of our guest happened.
Oh, how rude of me, I haven't even introduced our first guest! She was an American poet, who suffered from depression. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1982, but sadly, she couldn't receive it, as she had already passed away. She was a part of the confessional poetry movement.
An inscription on her door reads: "Perhaps some day I'll crawl back home, beaten, defeated. But not as long as I can make stories out of my heartbreak, beauty out of sorrow." You immediately recognize where that quote came from, and, disturbing our other guests, you carelessly yell at me: "I definitely know where these words were first written: "The Unabridged Journals of ______ _______" Which person did you just name?
2. The elevator is here, which means it's time for us to ascend to the second floor. Our journey is fast, but the doors open slowly. I'm sure the intrigue is killing you! As we walk through the hallway, you can sense that our guest did not die peacefully.
In fact, he had a very tough life due to several laws and thoughts of his time. This man suffered discrimination and was even imprisoned because of his sexual orientation (he was a homosexual). This playwright and poet wrote great works of literature, such as "The Importance of Being Earnest" and his novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
During his time at prison, he wrote a rather long letter titled "De Profundis", in which he claimed "the heart was made to be broken". I'm sure you know which Irish author this is, don't you? Can you name him?
3. Now that you know "the heart was made to be broken", it's time to visit our next guest, who is one of the most important writers in Southern literature in history.
Our third floor guest was rather unknown before receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. He grew up in Mississippi, and was part of both the Canadian and British air forces during World War I, although not as a fighter. Some of his most known works include "A Fable" and "The Sound and the Fury".
He once wrote, in his book "Soldiers' Pay": "The saddest thing about love, Joe, is that not only the love cannot last forever, but even the heartbreak is soon forgotten". Which legendary writer is described here?
4. We have now reached the fourth floor of our hotel, and this time we're visiting an author with a wide cultural background.
As it turns out, this man was born in Detroit, to a father of Greek descent, and a mother with English and Irish roots. His novel "Middlesex" won him the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2013. He also wrote the novel "The Virgin Suicides", which was turned into a movie starring James Woods and Kathleen Turner in 1999.
In 2011, he wrote his third novel, "The Marriage Plot", where he said "Heartbreak is funny to everyone but the heartbroken". You suddenly feel a tear coming out of your eye, and realize how true this is. Which author is he?
5. Our floor Five guest has been around since 1939, and specializes in historical and speculative fiction.
This Canadian lady has written more than ten novels, as well as many essays and poems. She has been the recipient of prestigious awards, such as the 2008 Prince of Asturias. Some of her novels are "The Edible Woman", "Oryx and Crake", and "Alias Grace", all of which have won several awards.
Her 1993 novel "The Robber Bride" contained the following words: "You can't keep a cool head when you're drowning in love. You just thrash around a lot and scream, and wear yourself out." Which prolific author is she?
6. This guest was one of the highest paid authors during the decade of the 30s, even though The Great Depression had just happened!
Although he had a medical background and a chance to be a great doctor, he decided to dedicate his time to full-time writing. He worked in World War I as both a Red Cross employee and a British Intelligence officer, for which he was sent to Russia. Even though he was born in France, he was technically born in Britain, as his mom gave birth to him in the British Embassy. Both his parents died when he was still a very young age. Some of his most notable works include "Of Human Bondage" and "Cakes and Ale".
According to his 1938 novel "The Summing Up", "The greatest tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love". Which great author is he?
7. Our seventh floor is full of Latin American culture, in order to make our guest feel as comfortable as possible.
Regarded as one of the greatest Latin American authors, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, as well as the 1972 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. This author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera" started his career as a journalist, but later decided to pursue a writing career. He sadly passed away in Mexico City on April 2014.
In one of his many short stories, he mentioned "Perhaps this is what the stories meant when they called somebody heartsick. Your heart and your stomach and your whole insides felt empty and hollow and aching". Which literary great is staying on our seventh floor?
8. We have reached the eight floor, and we're almost finished with our tour! Don't be sad though, as there's still plenty to discover.
Born in San Francisco, California, this author graduated from Swarthmore College. He was imprisoned during the Korean War as he was against said war; he was however released months later. Some of his famous works include "Whites" and "Mortals".
His most famous and successful novel was "Mating", a winner of the 1991 National Book Award for Fiction. In it, one of his characters stated "I feel like someone after a deluge being asked to describe the way it was before the flood while I'm still plucking seaweed out of my hair". Who wrote "Mating"?
9. One of the most influential English writers is staying at our ninth floor.
We're talking about an English essayist and lexicographer, who only went to college for a year. He became a teacher and he started writing biographies and articles, as well as poems. Some of his major works are "The Rambler", "Messiah" and "London".
James Boswell once wrote in a biography dedicated to this author some words credited to him: "While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it". Which great Englishman, often referred to as a doctor, said this?
10. The time has come for our final guest, perhaps the spookiest one of them all.
This horror writer is known for his very frightening writing style, and even more frightening books. His wide list of works includes "Carrie", "The Shining", and "The Dark Tower". He hails from Maine, and many of his stories are set there. He has won multiple awards, such as the Bram Stoker Awards and the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
In 1999, he published "Hearts in Atlantis", where he said "Hearts can break. Yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don't". Most of us have felt that way, haven't we? Which author is he?
Source: Author
Lpez
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
agony before going online.
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