Poetry takes on many forms. Sometimes it’s rhymes, sometimes it’s an artfully woven braid of metaphors, it can be a glance or a snowstorm, a piece of bakery or the act of chaining yourself to a redwood tree – and sometimes even a TV interview takes on poetic qualities, such as the one Jon Stewart did with Chris Matthews last week. I only just got to watch it and I, having been brought up by a father who used/s to tell me that “life is a market and you have to see that your value is high enough so you can sell yourself well” (which sounds even worse in German), was very, very intrigued.
You can watch or download the interview here and this is a transcript.
Jon Stewart: What campaigns are, are photo opportunities that are staged. And there’s nothing in this book about ‘Be Good. Be Competent.’
Chris Matthews: That’s the Bible. It’s been written.
Jon Stewart: This book has been written, too! It was called “The Prince.”
Chris Matthews: This book is better. Did you read it? What’d you think?
Jon Stewart: Yes, I read it. I thought it was a recipe for sadness. Only because when I read it I thought ‘This strikes me as artifice. If you live this book, your life will be strategy.’ This strikes me as saying success is finite.
