An Interview with Anansi

And now, live on our stage, 
ANANSI THE SPIDER! 

Fabulous art work by Adrienne Saldivar!

Anansi is getting so excited about having his stories published he thought it would be fun to do some interviews. So let's give him a warm round of applause. This is his first interview and he might be a little shy.

Who you calling shy?

Well, I thought maybe dangling in front of an audience might make you a nervous.

No sir, not me! I love attention. Go on, ask your questions. 

All right, let's start out with your nicknames. How many do you have?
I have plenty name they call me by, and some not so nice, but mostly people call me,  ’Nansi, Hanansi, Bru’ ’Nansi, or Brer Anansi. No matter what they call me, we all know who they mean. There is only one Anansi and that's me!

Do you watch much TV? 
Only when it have something good on.

And what would you consider a good show? 
Iron Chef, Rachel Ray…anything to do with cooking or eating food.

Oh, so you like food. (Anansi snorts) 
That would be an understatement. 

Do you have a favorite scent? 
FOOD. Any kind of food smell good to me!

If you had a million dollars you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it? 
Oh, that's easy. I’d build me a big, big house, with a big, big kitchen and I’d fill it with enough food so’s I’d never be hungry again.

What one place have you visited that you can’t forget, and want to go back to? 
My grandmother  kitchen.

Do you trust easily? 
Do you know who you talking to? I is ANANSI. If you think I am going trust someone like Tiger…well, nothing at all go so.

Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think? 
Well now, it all depend on the situation. Sometime I got no time to think up a plan. Sometime I got to act quick, quick, like when Tiger looking at me as if I were he food. 

Is there anything that has made you unhappy lately? 
The only thing make me unhappy is when there ain’t enough food to fill my belly.

Do you have a good body image? 
I is the most handsome spider in all the world. Why just look at the curve of my back and my fine long legs. You ever seen anything so handsome as me?

What is your favorite fruit? 
Oh now, this one hard. I like them all, you know, like mango, guava, sugar apple, tamarind, genip, sour sop, hog plum, mammie apple….

I get your point. What about websites, are there any you visit daily? 
I love the ones up in the rafters. I go there every day. You get a good view. The ones in the corner is best. That's where you ketch the most fly.

What have you been seriously addicted to lately? 
I addicted to only one thing, and that is food. If I don't get enough food in my belly, I likely to get hungry. Being hungry make my belly growl and I don't like that sound at all, at all. So food is it,  any time of the day or night, I is up for eating.

What’s your favorite item of clothing? 
I is a spider, why I would want to cover up my beautiful self with clothes?

Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy? 
If it food I sure to like them.

What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground? 
I would grab it up quick, quick and take all my friend out for a big fancy dinner.

Even Tiger? (Anansi stares at the ceiling, thinking.) 
Yes, even Brer Tiger, because he have been known to give me food.

What items could you not go without during the day? 
My cooking pot and some food.

What should you be doing right now? 
I should be thinking up some way to sneak into Brer Tiger kitchen and steal some of he food.

Well thank you very much, Anansi. Would you like to come back? 
I would love to come back so long as you have some food. 

I'll be sure to have something for you. Would you be willing to answer questions from the audience? 
Sure, sure! I love to talk.

So, audience, do you have any questions for Anansi? Don't be shy. Leave your questions in the comments and I'll be sure to bring Anansi back.