It might surprise you who's a fan of poetry — when it meets them where
they are.
Before he became an award-winning writer and poet, Brian Sonia-Wallace
set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that said "Poetry Store" and
discovered something surprising: all over America, people want poems. An
amateur busker at first, Brian asked countless strangers, "What do you need a
poem about?" To his surprise, passersby opened up to share their deepest
yearnings, loves, and heartbreaks. Hundreds of them. Then thousands. Around the
nation, Brian's poetry crusade drew countless converts from all walks of life.
In The Poetry of Strangers, Brian tells the story of his
cross-country journey in a series of heartfelt and insightful essays. From
Minnesota to Tennessee, California to North Dakota, Brian discovered that
people aren't so afraid of poetry when it's telling their stories. In "dying"
towns flourish vibrant artistic spirits and fascinating American characters who
often pass under the radar, from the Mall of America's mall walkers to retirees
on Amtrak to self-proclaimed witches in Salem.
In a time of unprecedented loneliness and isolation, Brian's journey
shows how art can be a vital bridge to community in surprising places.
Conventional wisdom says Americans don't want to talk to each other, but
according to this poet-for-hire, everyone is just dying to be heard.
Thought-provoking,
moving, and eye-opening, The Poetry of
Strangers is an unforgettable portrait
of America told through the hidden longings of one person at a time, by one of
our most important voices today. The fault lines and conflicts which divide us
fall away when we remember to look, in every stranger, for poetry.
