Carol Steen cont'd

Q: What made you begin the American Synesthesia Association (ASA)?
A: Pat [Duffy, co-founder and fellow synesthete] and I wondered -- is there something we could do so that we could make it easier? Because it took me 42 years. So we started the ASA. We're a public charity, and the only recognized organization in the U.S. for synesthetes. We put on conferences; our next will be in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from Sept. 26 to 28.

Q: Do you feel at home with your gift now?
A: I still have a lot of questions. One is, "What does it mean to have synesthesia," and the other is, "Why me?" But the difference is now I have lots of people I can talk to.

With color grapheme, the shape of the letter seems to indicate color. If there's an alphabet I don't recognize, I see it in black and white. But the minute someone pronounces the letters, they go into color.

Every time I'm invited to Juilliard, I always start the lecture asking how many people think they have synesthesia? By the end, there are always three or four.

Q: What kind of questions do people ask you?
A: People always want to know the color of my name. C is a cerulean blue, like Jamaican waters. A is a wonderful pink -- an alizarin crimson. R is cadmium, O is white and L is black with blue highlights. Pat and I have been arguing about L. She thinks it's a delicate yellow. I suggested she take vitamins, so she can see it the same way I do; she thinks I should learn my color wheel!