>> Nam: POETRY DOESN'T PAY THE BILLS FOR MOST POETS.
IT'S A LABOUR OF LOVE.
FOR BRIAN WOOD, THAT MEANS IN ADDITION TO HIS THIRD COLLECTION OF POETRY, HE'S ALSO GOT A
FASCINATING DAY JOB.
THE NEW BOOK IS CALLED, "ZEN IN BEVERLY HILLS," AND HE JOINS US NOW ON THAT AND HIS OTHER
TALENTS.
IT'S REALLY NICE TO MEET YOU.
>> Brian: NICE TO MEET YOU.
>> Nam: I REALLY ENJOYED THE BOOK.
A SMALL BUT MIGHTY BOOK.
YOU KNOW, BY DAY, YOU'RE A LITERARY AGENT REPRESENTING NON-FICTION SPORTS WRITERS.
BY NIGHT, OR MAYBE ON THE WEEKEND -- I DON'T KNOW -- YOU'RE A POET.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO WORLDS?
>> Brian: THAT'S A -- TO BE HONEST, THE POETRY IS KIND OF AN ESCAPE.
NOT THAT MY JOB IS -- I'M NOT A BRAIN SURGEON OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, I REALIZE PEOPLE HAVE
DIFFICULT JOBS, BUT BEING AN AGENT CAN BE DIFFICULT SOMETIMES.
AND THE POETRY IS JUST KIND OF AN ESCAPE TO THINGS I WANT TO WORK ON AND, YEAH, IT'S A WAY TO
ARTICULATE SOME THINGS I OTHERWISE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE.
>> Nam: WELL, I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU THAT.
I MEAN, WORKING IN SPORTS -- I'M A BIG BASKETBALL FAN.
AND THERE ARE SOME PLAYS, IT'S LIKE, OOH, THAT IS POETRY IN MOTION, RIGHT?
>> Brian: MM-HMM.
>> Nam: BUT POETRY I THINK DIGS DEEPER.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT POETRY THAT ALLOWS YOU TO EXPRESS YOURSELF?
>> Brian: I THINK IT'S A WAY TO SAY THINGS YOU COULDN'T SAY ANY OTHER WAY.
MOVIE MAKERS LIKE SCORSESE, ORSON WELLES, OR GREAT MUSIC MAKERS LIKE MOZART OR BACH, THEY
HAVE THEIR OWN ART FORM.
I THINK POETRY AT ITS BEST SAYS THINGS CONCISELY THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL IN A PLAY OR
A BOOK, HOWEVER WELL WRITTEN.
WHEN A POEM DOES ITS JOB WELL, IT SAYS THINGS YOU'VE THOUGHT BUT NEVER SEEN PUT THAT WAY.
>> Nam: IF YOU WERE TO PICK SOMETHING, A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU WERE HAVING CHALLENGES
AND POETRY ALLOWED YOU TO GET AT THE HEART OF WHY YOU WERE FEELING THE WAY YOU WERE
FEELING, WHAT MOMENT WOULD YOU SAY THAT WAS?
>> Brian: I KNOW THIS WILL SOUND WEIRD, BUT IT KIND OF HIT ME WHEN YOU -- WE WERE
DISCUSSING A LITTLE BIT BEFORE WE CAME ON CAMERA, THE ONE ABOUT OUR DOG DYING.
THAT WOULD BE A GOOD INDICATION OF THAT.
WHEN A DOG DIES, IT HITS YOU IN WAYS IT'S HARD TO CONCEIVE OF.
AND WORKING ON THAT POEM HELPED ME DEAL WITH WHAT I WAS DEALING WITH.
IT DIDN'T CURE IT BY ANY MEANS, BUT LAMENTING HER LOSS IN A POEM HELPED ME DEAL WITH THE FACT
THAT SHE WAS NO LONGER HERE.
>> Nam: BY THE WAY, GREAT POEM, AND MY CONDOLENCES.
>> Brian: THANK YOU.
>> Nam: I THINK A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE THINK, YOU'RE AN AGENT.
HOW MANY AGENTS ACTUALLY WRITE THEIR OWN BOOKS?
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT OCCURS A LOT?
>> Brian: I DON'T THINK SO, NO.
THEY MAINLY KEEP TO THEMSELVES.
I DO KNOW A COUPLE -- YEARS AGO A COUPLE OF EDITORS AT HARPER COLLINS WROTE A BOOK CALLED
"THINKING LIKE YOUR EDITOR" TO HELP AUTHORS TRY TO BREAK INTO THE BUSINESS.
BY COINCIDENCE, THEY'RE BOTH AGENTS THEMSELVES NOW.
SO WHETHER THEY'LL FOLLOW UP AND DO "THINKING LIKE YOUR AGENT" IS A QUESTION.
BUT AS FAR AS I KNOW, BEING AN AGENT CURES MOST PEOPLE -- BEING AN AGENT I THINK TAKES AWAY THE
MYSTERY OF THE INDUSTRY.
>> Nam: WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?
>> Brian: WELL, YOU WOULD KNOW.
YOU'VE BEEN IN TELEVISION A LONG TIME.
WHEN YOU'RE A KID, TELEVISION IS WONDERFUL AND PERFECT AND GREAT AND YOU LOVE EVERY SHOW AND YOU
CAN'T WAIT, AND THEN YOU GO IN THE INDUSTRY AND REALIZE IT'S A LONG CLIMB UP AND SOMETIMES YOU
HAVE TO CLIMB DOWN.
EVERY INDUSTRY HAS ITS SECRETS.
AND THE BOOK -- I'M SURE WHEN YOU WERE A KID, YOU LOVED TO READ AND I DID TOO AND YOU JUST
DEVOURED THEM.
AND NOW YOU FIND OUT THAT THE BLURBS IN THE BACK AREN'T NECESSARILY BLURBS, SOMETIMES
THEY'RE MANUFACTURED, AND IN NON-FICTION, THE BOOK IS OFTEN WRITTEN BY SOMEBODY ELSE.
>> Nam: GHOST WRITERS, RIGHT?
>> Brian: OH, YES.
I'M SURE THAT HAPPENS IN FICTION TOO, BUT THAT I'M BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OF.
>> Nam: THAT'S HAPPENED BEFORE WHEN I READ A BOOK AND I THOUGHT IT WAS THE WRITER AND THEN FIND
OUT THAT THEY DIDN'T WRITE IT AND IT FELT KIND OF LIKE YOU WERE DUPED IN A WAY.
>> Brian: I SHOULDN'T TELL THE STORY.
>> Nam: I KNOW.
YOU'RE TELLING ALL THE INDUSTRY SECRETS.
>> Brian: A LOT OF THE TOP EDITORS I DEAL WITH ARE VERY GOOD AT THEIR JOKES AND IT'S A
JOKE SOMETIMES, TO STRETCH THE CONVERSATION, I'LL SAY, "SO WHAT BOOK ARE YOU RE-WRITING FROM
SCRATCH TODAY?"
AND INSTEAD OF LAUGHING THERE'S THIS AWKWARD, "THANKS, BRIAN," AND THEN THEY EITHER ANSWER ME
OR THEY GO ON WITH WHAT THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
BUT IN NON-FICTION, A LOT OF THE BOOKS SOMETIMES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN FROM SCRATCH BY SOMEONE
ELSE.
>> Nam: YOU KNOW THAT EMJOI, THERE'S AN EMOJI THAT HAS A SMILE BUT A TEAR DOWN THEIR
FACE, BECAUSE I'M JUST LIKE, I'M SURE THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BREAK INTO THE INDUSTRY
AND PUT THEIR BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS, AND THEN THEY DON'T BUT THEN BEHIND THE SCENES -- MAYBE
YOU'LL WRITE A BOOK ABOUT THAT.
>> Brian: OH, I'D PROBABLY BE KILLED, BUT, SURE.
>> Nam: YOUR FIRST BOOK "WINTER WALK" WAS PUBLISHED IN 2013.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BEGIN WRITING POETRY?
>> Brian: I HAD BEEN DOING THEM FOR A WHILE.
I DIDN'T REALLY WRITE ANYTHING DECENT UNTIL I WAS IN MY MID-30s.
UNTIL THEN I WAS JUST PARROTING MUCH BETTER POETS AND SHOWING THEM TO MY FRIENDS.
AS I GOT OLDER AND A LITTLE MORE MATURE, THEY STARTED GETTING A LITTLE BETTER AND FRIENDS
STARTED ENCOURAGING ME TO PUBLISH.
AND WITH MY GIRLFRIEND'S HELP, IT TOOK ME A WHILE, BUT I SUBMITTED TO A FEW SMALLER
PRESSES, AND EVENTUALLY SAKURA PRESS IN PENNSYLVANIA GAVE ME A SHOT.
>> Nam: IT'S INTERESTING WHAT YOU JUST SAID, THAT IN YOUR 20s, YOU WERE COPYING OTHER
PEOPLE BUT IN YOUR 30s YOU FELT I GUESS CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO USE YOUR OWN VOICE.
DO YOU THINK IT WAS JUST ABOUT MATURITY?
>> Brian: I HAD TO GROW UP A LOT, YEAH.
THE EARLY POEMS WERE, "HEY, LOOK AT HOW CLEVER THIS IS."
AND HOPEFULLY THEY WERE.
OR AT LEAST MY FRIENDS PRETENDED THEY WERE.
AFTER A WHILE I STARTED WRITING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, AND THAT'S I THINK WHEN THEY GOT BETTER.
AS WITH ANYTHING, THE MORE I DID IT THE MORE CONFIDENT I GOT AND MORE RELAXED AND YOU'RE NOT
TRYING TO SHOW OFF, YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO -- HOPEFULLY PEOPLE ENJOY THE POEMS ON WHATEVER
LEVEL THEY WANT TO.
>> Nam: IT MAKES ME THINK OF THAT SAYING: FOR GREAT WRITERS, SHOW, DON'T TELL?
>> Brian: YES.
THOSE THREE WORDS SHOULD BE UP IN EVERY WRITING SCHOOL IN THE WORLD.
>> Nam: BECAUSE ONCE YOU EXPERIENCE SOMETHING, YOU DON'T NEED TO LIKE, SAY, A DIAGRAM --
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT POETRY.
THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN I FEEL KIND OF ASHAMED THAT WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, I DIDN'T LEARN ABOUT
SHAKESPEARE -- >> Brian: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
>> Nam: -- LORD BYRON OR DANTE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
IT STILL FEELS LIKE -- IT STILL KIND OF FEELS LIKE POETRY IS INACCESSIBLE.
SO HOW DO WE MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE?
>> Brian: THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I HEAR THAT A LOT.
"I DON'T LIKE POETRY.
I HATED IT IN SCHOOL."
I DID TOO.
I DIDN'T REALLY ENJOY POETRY UNTIL I LEFT SCHOOL.
WE TEACH IT AS A FORMULAIC, BORING, PEDANTIC EXERCISE WHEN IT'S ANYTHING BUT.
SHAKESPEARE AND THE BIBLE ARE UNFILMABLE, X-RATED STUFF YOU COULDN'T GET ON TV OR THE MOVIES
NOW AND YET WE TEACH THEM AS BORING, STAID SUBJECTS.
WE DO THE SAME TO PLATO.
HE MIGHT BE THE MOST INTERESTING MAN WHO EVER LIVED, AND YET NOW HE'S A BORING TEXTBOOK WRITER
YOU'RE FORCED TO READ IN FIRST YEAR OR WHATEVER.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND WAYS TO GET TEACHERS TO BRING THIS TO STUDENTS AS PART OF THEIR LIVES.
IT'S FASCINATING STUFF IF IT'S TAUGHT PROPERLY.
>> Nam: I MEAN, I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT MAINTAINING TRADITION.
YOUR POEMS DEMONSTRATE A REVERENCE FOR A TRADITIONAL FORM OF POETRY.
IS THAT INTENTIONAL?
>> Brian: OH, YES, VERY MUCH.
I HOPE, IF I'M DOING MY JOB, I HOPE TO REMIND PEOPLE OF SAY ROBERT FROST OR ODIN.
IF THEY READ THE KING JAMES BIBLE, I HOPE IT REMINDS THEM OF THAT TOO.
I HAVE REAL REVERENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO GOT IT RIGHT, AND HOPEFULLY I DO TOO SOMETIMES.
>> Nam: I DO FIND THAT NOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA PEOPLE EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH POETRY THAT
MIGHT NOT BE SEEN AS TRADITIONAL.
LIKE ON INSTAGRAM THERE'S A WOMAN CALLED ALEX L, AND I THINK SHE IS TERRIFIC.
I THINK BACK BEFORE SOCIAL MEDIA, I DON'T THINK SHE WOULD BE ABLE TO EXPRESS HERSELF
THROUGH THE POEMS.
SO IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO DRAW FROM THE PAST AND MAYBE RELAY THAT POETRY IN THE PRESENT?
>> Brian: OH, SURE.
EVERY GOOD POET REMAKES THE WORLD IN HIS OR HER OWN IMAGE, I THINK.
EVERY GREAT WRITER STARTED OUT AS A HERESY.
AND THEN THEY MAKE THE WORLD INTO WHAT THEY WANT IT TO.
WE THINK OF -- WE DON'T SEE TS ELIOT AS BORING AND SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD TO READ IN SCHOOL
BUT AT THE TIME HE WAS CONSIDERED REALLY OUT THERE, A MODERNIST, UNTOUCHABLE.
THE SAME AS PHILIP LARKIN AND A BUNCH OF OTHER POETS.
THE POETS TODAY WHO ARE USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET THEIR WORK OUT THERE ARE DOING ACTUALLY
WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO.
GET YOUR WORK OUT THERE SO READERS CAN APPRECIATE IT AND DEAL WITH IT.
THE POET ALWAYS HAS TO HAVE CONTACT WITH THE READER AND VICE VERSA.
YOU CAN CUT THIS OUT TOO.
AS SOON AS GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES COME IN AND PUBLISHERS ARE PUBLISHING THE STUFF REGARDLESS
OF WHETHER THE PUBLIC IS INTERESTED OR NOT, THAT CONNECTION IS CUT.
THE POET WHO WANTS TO BE READ WILL ALWAYS WANT TO INTERACT WITH THE PUBLIC.
>> Nam: AND WE'RE NOT CUTTING THAT OUT BECAUSE THAT WAS GREAT.
LET'S TALK ABOUT STYLE BECAUSE THERE IS STYLE IN POETRY.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WHAT STYLISTIC AND THEMATIC CHOICES HAVE YOU MADE TO ALIGN YOUR WORK
WITH CLASSICAL POETRY?
>> Brian: I DO MY BEST, AND WHEN I FAIL IT'S LACK OF TALENT, NOT OF EFFORT.
I DO MY BEST TO REMIND PEOPLE OF POETS I LOVE, LIKE PHILIP LARKIN, WHO I JUST MENTIONED,
YEATS, ODIN, DANTE, SHAKESPEARE -- OBVIOUSLY I DON'T GET TO ANYWHERE NEAR THEIR
LEVEL.
BUT I TRY TO REMIND PEOPLE OF THE POETS THAT I READ ON MY OWN.
I FIND THEIR STUFF INEXPRESSIBLY GOOD AND THAT'S THE STANDARD I AIM FOR.
>> Nam: HOW DOES YOUR WORK DEFER FROM THE POSTMODERNIST AND EXPERIMENTAL POETRY THAT WE DO
SEE A LOT TODAY?
>> Brian: AGAIN, YOU'LL PROBABLY BE CUTTING THIS OUT LATER, BUT WITH SOME RARE
EXCEPTIONS -- >> Nam: WE'RE NOT CUTTING ANYTHING OUT, BRIAN, OKAY?
>> Brian: YOU KNOW, STARTING IN THE 20TH CENTURY, SOME VERY GIFTED WRITERS CAME ALONG, LIKE
EE CUMMINGS AND JAMES JOYCE AND VIRGINIA WOOLF, WE CAN BOTH GO ON, WHO IN THEIR BRILLIANT
WAY STARTING BREAKING DOWN THE RULES AND THEY COULD GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE OF THEIR
ENORMOUS TALENT.
BUT THE POET WHO COMES ALONG TODAY AND EVERY LINE STARTS WITH "I" AND IT'S ALL IN THE LOWER
CASE AND IT'S ABOUT THEIR TRIP TO STARBUCKS THIS MORNING AND HOW THE BARISTA WAS RUDE AND
THAT'S THE END AND IT DOESN'T RHYME, IT DOESN'T SCAN, THEY'RE REALLY TALKING TO THEMSELVES.
IT'S LIKE THE MODERNIST COMPOSER WHO WILL ONLY WRITE IN A CERTAIN KEY IN A DARK ROOM WITH NO ONE
LISTENING.
I THINK MODERNISM WENT TOO FAR AND DIVORCED ITSELF FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AND LIKE I SAY,
A JOYCE OR A STRAVINSKY CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT SOMETIMES.
BUT IF PEOPLE WANT TO BE READ, I THINK THEIR STUFF SHOULD RHYME OR SCAN, BECAUSE POPULAR POETRY
SELLS ENORMOUSLY.
JUST ASK DRAKE OR KANYE WEST, ANY POP BAND, ALL THEIR STUFF RHYMES OR SCANS.
ALL OF IT.
>> Nam: RIGHT.
I KNOW IT, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT UNTIL YOU SAID IT.
IN YOUR BOOK YOU WRITE ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS.
YOU MENTIONED BARISTA.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A POEM ABOUT BARISTA.
AND THE THEME OF RELIGION IS WHAT WENT THROUGH A FEW OF THE POEMS IN YOUR COLLECTION.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE POEM HOLLYWOOD AND HIGHLAND FEATURED A STREET PREACHER.
WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO SAY THERE?
>> Brian: HOPEFULLY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET ACROSS THERE IS HOW ODD IT WAS THAT ON THAT
STREET THAT DAY, EVERYONE WAS RELIEVED THAT HE WASN'T PANHANDLING AND HE WASN'T TRYING
TO COERCE YOU INTO GIVING UP MONEY OR HAVING TO -- LIKE I SAID IN THE POEM, THEY TREATED
HIM LIKE HE WAS SPEAKING KLINGON, LIKE HE WAS SPEAKING A BYGONE LANGUAGE FROM A BYGONE
DAY.
IT'S WEIRD TO ME THAT A RELIGION THAT TOOK HOLD OF A LOT OF EUROPE AND MUCH OF THE
AMERICAS AND HAS MILLIONS OF ADHERENTS TODAY -- IN LOS ANGELES THAT DAY HE WAS A
CRAZY WEIRDO, AND THERE ARE CRAZY WEIRDOS AT YONGE AND DUNDAS RIGHT NOW, AS YOUR
PRODUCER WAS REMINDING ME A COUPLE DAYS AGO.
IT'S WEIRD HOW A RELIGION CAN TAKE HOLD OF MANY PEOPLE, BUT AS TIME GOES BY, IT JUST BECOMES
ANOTHER IDEOLOGY AND PEOPLE MOVE ON.
>> Nam: MM-HMM.
I'M THINKING BACK ON SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT YOU WROTE IN THE BOOK.
THERE'S A POEM WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT A HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS BECAUSE I THINK WE STILL LIVE IN
A WORLD VERY MUCH WHERE WE PLACE PEOPLE, IF YOU DO THIS JOB, YOU'RE UP HERE.
BUT THEN IT TURNS OUT THAT THAT PERSON IS NOT THE NICEST PERSON, RIGHT?
AND THEN AGAIN YOU HAD ONE ABOUT THE STREET PREACHER.
WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO SAY IN THOSE POEMS BUT JUST USING I GUESS -- I WOULDN'T SAY THE
HOLLYWOOD PERSON IS JUST AN EVERYDAY PERSON, BUT IN CALIFORNIA THEY PROBABLY ARE.
>> Brian: OH, YEAH.
IF YOU WANT TO RUN INTO STARS, HANG AROUND BEVERLY HILLS FOR A WHILE.
THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO AN OLD BOSS OF MINE.
SHE WAS AT A BEVERLY HILLS CAFE AND -- AM I ALLOWED TO NAME THE MOVIE STAR, OR DOES THAT SPOIL
THE SEGMENT?
>> Nam: DO TELL.
WE MIGHT HAVE TO CUT IT OUT, BUT DO TELL.
>> Brian: SHIRLEY MACLAINE CAME ROARING IN, THIS IS HOW I DESCRIBED IT, USED EVERY F-BOMB
ON THE PLANET TO GET HER LUNCH AND WAS JUST AWFUL TO EVERYONE.
AND SHE IS AS BAD AS I DESCRIBE IT THERE.
MY BOSS SAID, "BRIAN, THIS IS A BRILLIANT POEM, WELL DONE, BUT YOU'VE COMPLETELY MISSED THE
POINT."
>> Nam: WHAT POINT DID YOU MISS?
>> Brian: SHE SAID, "BRIAN, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND.
THE STAFF THERE MOSTLY FOUND HER CHARMING."
AND I SAID: "TRANSLATION: THEY FOUND HER CHARMING BECAUSE SHE WAS RICH AND FAMOUS."
I'M PROBABLY AVOIDING YOUR QUESTION.
BUT ALL I WAS TRYING TO GET ACROSS -- >> Nam: WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT
SAYS ABOUT US AS A SOCIETY?
>> Brian: WE WORSHIP THESE PEOPLE BEYOND ALL REASON.
WE'RE ALL LIKE THAT.
I'M GUILTY AS CHARGED.
WHEN I WAS A KID, I THOUGHT GUY LaFLEUR WALKED ON WATER.
WE ALL WORSHIP CELEBRITIES FAR OUT OF PROPORTION TO THEIR MERIT.
IT'S JUST PART OF HOW WE'RE WIRED.
THAT POEM I THINK I WAS JUST TRYING TO SHOW WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE.
THEY HAVE BEEN PRAISED FOR SO LONG, THEY'VE BEEN CALLED EVERY GOOD THING, THEY'RE TOLD THEY'RE
THE BEST, AND ONCE THEY STOP GETTING THE ROLES AND ONCE THE FAME STARTS -- THEY'RE OUT OF
LOVE FOR THEMSELVES OR ANYTHING ELSE.
I'VE SEEN THAT A FEW TIMES.
THERE'S ANOTHER POEM ABOUT -- AM I ALLOWED?
>> Nam: SAY THE NAME.
WE'LL DECIDE LATER.
>> Brian: I ONCE HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING LINDA BLAIR.
YOU CAN TELL SHE IS OUT OF CASH, OUT OF MONEY, OUT OF IDEAS AND SHE USED TO BE THE BIGGEST STAR
IN THE WORLD.
WHO WAS THAT GUY ON PARKS AND REC -- ROB LOWE.
HE SAID FAME IS THE ONE DRUG YOU CAN'T RECOVER FROM.
>> Nam: BECAUSE YOU WANT MORE AND MORE OF IT.
>> Brian: THEY DON'T EVER RECOVER, I DON'T THINK.
I HAVE KNOWN -- YEAH.
IT'S SOMETHING PEOPLE CAN'T HELP REPLACE IN THEIR LIVES.
>> Nam: IF YOU COULD SAY IN ONE LINE -- WE HAVE ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT -- IF SOMEONE IS
WATCHING THIS AND THEY'RE STILL NOT CONVINCED TRYING POETRY, THEY FEEL AS IF IT'S SOMETHING
THAT'S CLOSED OFF TO THEM AND THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT LIFE IN IT, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
>> Brian: I THINK JUST TO GIVE ANOTHER TRY.
POETRY, LIKE I SAID, HAS BEEN NEGLECTED FOR MANY REASONS OVER THE YEARS.
IT'S MODERNISM AND THE WAY IT'S TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS.
BUT GREAT POETS HAVE A WAY OF REACHING DOWN EITHER THROUGH THE CENTURIES OR FROM TWO MINUTES
AGO.
IF THEIR MESSAGE IS RELEVANT TO YOU, THEY'LL FIND IT.
THEY CAN SAY THINGS YOU WON'T FIND IN ANY OTHER ART FORM.
>> Nam: WE TRULY ARE JUST TRYING TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD AND
OUR PLACE IN IT.
I'VE REALLY ENJOYED IT.
CONGRATULATIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
>> Brian: THANK YOU.