Interview Song

Who are some of your biggest literary influences?

I am a rather nosy passenger.

I ride on a lot of public transportation.

I try very hard not to judge

my fellow passengers.

I think they try not to judge me.

I am pretty sure they do

judge me though,

as I them.

I find that I am most nosy

about their choices in reading material.

In fact, I find it to be

a rather telling, if not shallow,

method of judgement;

I wholeheartedly

endorse it.

For instance, if I see someone reading

a Lemony Snicket novel,

then I slip them a manilla folder

containing my unfinished screenplay

‘Vanguard For Dollars’.

Or, if I see someone reading

a Kurt Vonnegut novel,

then I hand them a silkscreen picture

of an asshole,

& then I tell them ‘I made that.’

Or, if I see someone reading

a David Eggers novel,

then I look away from them,

with all due velocity,

towards the sunburnt girl

who has just put down her copy

of ‘Hell’s Angels’,

in order to hurriedly clean

her glasses.

Or, if I see someone

reading a Jeanette Winterson novel,

then I simply curl up

upon a neighbouring seat,

rest my temples upon

their trustworthy thigh,

& ask them to tell me

a story.