Read Between the Lines to Find Texas Poet’s Verse
Morning Edition, May 9, 2008
Instead of starting with a blank page, poet Austin Kleon grabs the New York Times and a permanent marker — and eliminates the words he doesn’t need. He recently transformed an article about a piano concert into a poem that begins: “Forget about trying to speak … the image is the travelogue.” The newspaper ends up more black than white, and shows another way to read between the lines.
My wife and I are huge NPR junkies, so this was quite a Friday treat. Welcome to new visitors, and thanks again to everyone who’s spread the word about them! You guys are awesome.
My buddy Tim and I went to see writer Michael Chabon (”Shea as in stadium, Bon as in Jovi”) at Bookpeople last night. There were at least 100 people there. I picked up a copy of his beautiful new non-fiction collection with a Jordan Crane-designed cover.
During the Q&A, Chabon remarked of one of his characters, “He was too verbose and too Jewish.”
When he signed my book to “Meg + Austin,” I said, “Meg is my wife—she really likes your stuff.”
And Chabon (who seems like a really nice guy, by the way) joked, “Oh, and you don’t think it’s so hot?”
And I blushed and restrained myself from quoting his Q&A.
(Brilliant storyteller, but dang, he can be long-winded!)
So, it was a real pleasure to hear him speak about the show, and his collaboration with Trey Parker. His thoughts were funny and intelligent.
Some highlights for me:
The show was originally supposed to be a “X-Files set in the mountains” with all the townspeople seeing aliens, etc. That premise got quickly worn out, but they kept the small town setting, which would later serve as a little microcosm for America, keeping the show continually fresh.
Their method of cut-outs was born out of procrastination: they do each show in only a week, and the quickness of the whirlwind process keeps them from getting bored. Stone said he barely remembers the shows after they finish them. He quoted Danny DeVito as saying, “Movies are never finished, only abandoned.” (There’s a different origin to that quote, but it’s true for all art forms.)
Stone said they always used to start a project by making a trailer first, and they’d use that to shop it around.
He listed three things that make his job the best job in Hollywood:
Complete creative control
Working with friends
Living five minutes away from work
When you think about it, that’s the formula for any great job…
Speaking of formulas, here’s the formula to most South Park episodes:
A controversial issue
Two extreme sides screaming at each other
Kids stuck in the middle
And again, when you think about it, that pretty much describes America.