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Monday, April 18, 2011

Eavesdropper Interview: Austin Kleon.


Internet, meet Austin Kleon.

A poet, artist, and the author of the wildly popular Newspaper Blackout, there's a good chance you're familiar with Austin already.

When I first heard about him on NPR, I was immediately intrigued: Here was a poet who, instead of generating words on a page, started with a newspaper and crossed out the words he didn't need.   


This was around 2008, when I first caught wind of Austin.  Then, when I read a story about him in The Austin Chronicle last year, I realized -- oh my God!  He lives in my city, Austin, Texas.  I wondered if I'd ever get to meet him.


Austin's funny horoscopes that he does each month, click to enlarge.

Fast forward to last weekend, when I did a massive "grub crawl" with a group of about 25 people.  We were assigned to sample as many food trailers as possible, and were divided up into teams for the task.  I started talking to this portrait artist in my group.  

What do you do?  I asked.  Well, I sometimes do sketches of bands and musicians, he replied, but the main thing I guess I'm known for is blacking out words in newspapers and--

WAIT YOU'RE THAT GUY!  I shouted.  I'M SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU!

I realized it was indeed Austin Kleon, and after I calmed down a little bit, we talked about his work and his book.  In between bites of Cuban pork sandwiches, chocolate cake balls, and (at one point) a gooey maple bacon doughnut monstrosity, I asked him if he would be up for an interview on Austin Eavesdropper sometime.  And he said ok.



Austin also has an ongoing project called De-Signs, which is as equally witty as the horoscopes.

To celebrate Austin Eavesdropper's newly-revamped look, I'm doing a series of "Eavesdropper Interviews" of various artists who inspire me, and encourage me to live a more creative life.  Austin is our very first, and I hope you are as jazzed about him as I am.


1. Hi Austin, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up reading and drawing and writing and playing music in a house in the middle of a cornfield in southern Ohio. I’m an artist, but I’ve always had day jobs: I’ve been a librarian, a web designer, and now I’m a copywriter. I moved to Austin about four years ago, and I live in a little house on the east side with my wife Meghan and our dachshund Milo. 

2. You write poetry with a newspaper and a Sharpie. When did you start doing this?

I started making the poems and blogging them at www.austinkleon.com in 2005, when I was right out of college. They slowly got more and more popular over the years, and HarperCollins published a collection of them, Newspaper Blackout, in 2010. Now I sell fine art prints and run a website where folks can submit their own blackout poems, newspaperblackout.com.

3. One of the best things about your poetry is that -- in addition to having such an innovative form -- it's also really funny.


Who are your humor inspirations?

I love comic strips like Peanuts, Far Side, and Achewood, I love stand-up comedy, especially Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin, but also Louis CK and John Waters, and I love TV shows like Arrested Development and movies like Groundhog Day.

4. Your book, Newspaper Blackout, got ridiculous media!   I think I like the Cleveland Plain Dealer's description best, "Sort of like Michelangelo carving away the marble that imprisoned what he saw within." What was your favorite response (from media or even just a person) to the book?


The press is great, but my favorite thing is the magic that happens when we do a Newspaper Blackout workshop and all these strangers fill the room with marker fumes and then they start coming up to the front and actually reading their poems. It’s amazing. I don’t even bother “reading” at my readings. I just bring markers and newspapers. Playtime for adults -- it’s very rare that adults are given art supplies and asked to make something for no good reason.

5. This is one of my favorite things you have written: "You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life." Name 5 things in the Austin Kleon mash-up.

Pictures, words, Mom, Dad, whiskey. 

6. I've always liked the fact that you are a pro-print person, like me. You like touching newspaper and making art out of it. You are wary of too much computer time and this too resonates with me. So what are some of your favorite books?

I love everything Kurt Vonnegut and Lynda Barry and Saul Steinberg ever put out. I love Joe Brainard’s I Remember, which is a memoir made up of a bunch of sentences that begin with “I Remember...” I love Carl Jung’s memoir, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. I love Frank O’Hara’s Lunch Poems. I love William Maxwell’s So Long, See You Tomorrow. I love David Hockney’s book, Secret Knowledge. So many books! Since 2005, I’ve kept lists of the best things I read every year.
 
7. Your graduation talk, "How to Steal Like an Artist," is going viral.  I absolutely love your advice here about living a creative life. 




Knowing there are several wonderful tips you offer people, what do you think is the key to living a creative life?

I’m not sure, honestly.

Picasso said, “All children are artists.” All the really, really good artists I know are like kids when they’re making stuff. They’re concentrating real hard, and they have their tongue sticking out, you know? They’re playing. They’re using their hands.

Kids have tons of energy. They haven’t been worn out yet. They don’t have to pay bills and mow the lawn.

You have to tap into that energy reserve, I think. And you have to not waste your energy.


Lots of artists act like children, but not at the right time and place! You need to save that stuff up for when you’re in your office making things!

8. What is your favorite children's book?

Ed Emberley’s Make A World.

9. And finally, you and I recently did a food trailer crawl together. What was the best thing you tasted?

The frickin’ strawberry shortcake donut at Gourdoughs with cream cheese frosting. OMG.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for introducing "us" to Austin Kleon. I will now need to own his book and follow all of his blogs;-)

Absolutely love the sign "Women never leave you"

Thank ya ma'am!

Nicole Mlakar-Livingston said...

I found that post about "How to Steal like a Artist" last week and I was SO thrilled to hear someone say what we are all thinking. It's crazy that I found out about Austin in that roundabout way but now I'm so glad that I did.

Anonymous said...

ok, once again, SO JEALOUS OF YOUR LIFE. i just read about how to steal like an artist -- incredible! i love the de-signs, too -- hadn't seen those before. i'm inspired -- maybe i should start doing this to the recipes i use. unfortunately the final product might be less artistic and more... gross.

natalie

Christi @ Rumination Avenue said...

I love his horoscopes! I wish to add one more question: is Austin his real name? or did his parents have a connection?

Unknown said...

Creativity is subtraction. Love it!

Jess (hellowifeonline.com) said...

Thank you for introducing us all to Austin Kleon! His art/poetry is so refreshing and ... dare I say? Un-pretentious.

That Chelsea Girl™ said...

What a great interview! Can't wait to read some of his stuff.

Jessica @ Texan at the Table said...

OoOoh! I love this! How creative and unique. Now I am officially obsessed. Thank you for the post.

Austin Eavesdropper said...

@Katie -- You are so very welcome! The "Women never leave you" is too good.

@Nicole -- I know, isn't it nuts that he, writer of that speech, lives here?? You should have seen me GEEK OUT during our first meeting. Austin I'm grateful you were so cool about it. Congratulations your rising artist star, friend!

@TheFirstKitchen -- Haha, Natalie. You actually would have been a perfect companion on the grub crawl tour. We were moaning in pain at the end. And hey, maybe that would be a funny experiment, to "de-sign" your recipes? Instead of "Spaghetti & Meatballs" you could make "Spa & Meat."

Which actually does sound a little gross.

@Christi -- I don't know! Austin? I'll let you take that one.

@Ross -- Right? We should get one of his prints for our new place.

@Jess -- I know! My favorite part about Austin's work is that it's so damn funny.

@Chelsea -- Thanks lady! Glad you enjoyed.

@Jessica -- I'm so glad, it is my goal to make more people obsessed with Austin and his work. That kid's going places.

Anonymous said...

GAH. I love this. Austin, I'm so glad I know about you!

Tolly you have exceptional taste in artists, you know?

mandyface said...

LOVE his work! I'm going to have to start doing this with the boring newsletters I have to read at work ;)