Brian Sonia-Wallace || Rent Poet, Poetry of Strangers

The Unity Project

Hello, my dear internet friends! This week I got to interview Brian Sonia-Wallace, the West Hollywood Poet Laureate, Harper Collins Author, and one of the most creative/ unique people I've ever gotten to talk to.

In 2012, Brian set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that said “Poetry Store” and accidentally started their business: RENT Poet. Over 5,000 poems later, their book of essays, The Poetry of Strangers, profiles the communities they've written for across America, and the desperate desire to be listened to and heard that they found. Excerpts have been published in The Guardian and Rolling Stone, and they've been the official Writer in Residence for unlikely clients from Amtrak to the Mall of America.

I got to talk with this incredible human about what it was like traveling America with a typewriter, meeting countless strangers, and talking about what they need.

We also talked about Brian's story of how they became who they are today, how their relationship with their body has grown over the years through outlets like bodybuilding and theatre, and what it means to be a poet.

Enjoy!

Follow me:

IG: @jackieg.tv

Twitter: @jackieeg7

Support this Podcast: Patreon.com/jackiegtv

Buy My Book: Gumroad.com/l/findinghome

Follow Brian:

IG/ Twitter/ Facebook: @rentpoet

www.briansonia-wallace.com

PRIDE POETS:

"This Poems for You" podcast debuts in June 2022.

ON JUNE 11TH: Call 202-998-3510 and poets will be standing by to write you a custom poem over the phone!

More info at www.weho.org/pride or @wehoarts.