Jordan Thompson - Writing in the Age of the Endless Scroll

1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,760
Slam.
Poetry doesn't care if it's

2
00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:04,120
perfect.
It's time to slam.

3
00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,040
It's the biggest poem I've got
inside of She Was a thief.

4
00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,080
You love me to love a haunted
house yelling.

5
00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:14,680
Angry blood black nothingness
began to spin.

6
00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,920
This day I hate pork.
Chops.

7
00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:24,320
I am the master of my thing.
I am the captain myself.

8
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,320
I've got my pen, my sword, my
promise.

9
00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,479
Welcome to I think Therefore I
Slam, the podcast bringing you

10
00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:37,000
the best slam poetry and spoken
word artist from around

11
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,720
Australia and around the world.
My name is Andrew Rogerson.

12
00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,800
My guest today is a 28 year old
Adelaide native who has built

13
00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,320
himself a rather nice little
following on poetry Instagram

14
00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,480
under the name JT Elliott.
Poetry, if I do say so myself.

15
00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:54,720
He's drawing inspiration from
music, lyrics, travelling and

16
00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,200
sunsets, and his latest
collection, The Human Condition,

17
00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,600
dropped last year.
Now we know that he's a

18
00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,160
counsellor, we know that he's a
former teacher, we know that

19
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,599
he's a Christian.
But today we want to find out

20
00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,120
what really moves him and what
makes him tick.

21
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,320
I cannot wait.
Jordan Thompson, glad to have

22
00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:12,280
you part of this tapestry.
How are you?

23
00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:13,480
Yeah, good.
Thank you.

24
00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,720
I'm really excited to be a part
of this.

25
00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,640
I've been really excited to chat
to you about it.

26
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,240
Yeah, really happy to be here.
For those who aren't already

27
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,640
following you on socials, tell
people like, what are they

28
00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,000
missing out?
What is the experience of JT

29
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,600
Elliott poetry?
When people go on there?

30
00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,680
Can you give us a snapshot?
Yeah, sure.

31
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,960
I think the experience is
probably an interesting way to

32
00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:34,520
put it.
But certainly, look, I think

33
00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,840
Instagram has its positives and
negatives, but I think part of

34
00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,160
the experience is certainly, I
mean part of the intro sunsets.

35
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,640
I tried to use sunsets as I can,
but it's trying to use the

36
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,680
visual aspects of poetry and
imagery and then also using the

37
00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,040
words and put them together to
create some sort of artistic

38
00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:57,400
piece, whether it be 30 seconds
long or 10 seconds long or two

39
00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:59,160
minutes long.
We're smashing things together

40
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,480
and and seeing what happens.
That's what it's all about.

41
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:02,880
Fantastic.
Well, we're going to get more

42
00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,120
into depth about things like
social media, how you've built

43
00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,560
your whole visual aesthetic.
We want to hear some of your

44
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:10,800
work, We want to hear what
you've got.

45
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,240
You're our first representative
from Adelaide, so there's a lot

46
00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,240
of pressure on this.
Yeah.

47
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,760
Did you want to jump straight in
or give us an intro of the

48
00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:19,520
piece?
Yeah, absolutely.

49
00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,800
I was asked, you know, what
piece I want to share and I

50
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,040
guess I've been running for a
while and I was having a look

51
00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,800
and I'm smiling now.
But I think sometimes the other

52
00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,920
things I write about can be a
bit intense.

53
00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:32,720
So to start off with, let's
start with something a little

54
00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,320
bit more intense out of my
collection.

55
00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:38,600
And yeah, I hope you enjoy it.
Remember my toil?

56
00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,840
Oh, brother, do not leave me in
despair.

57
00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,200
My course is already set.
I have chosen the path less

58
00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,400
fair.
Pay the ferryman at the gate.

59
00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:52,000
Don't be fooled by his wry
smile.

60
00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:56,080
Just take your ticket and go.
We do not have much time.

61
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,240
I feel a death in my soul.
The lifeless spirit wanes in me.

62
00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,720
I cling to branches when I fall,
yet the sharp ends Pierce me

63
00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,480
completely, rupture this wasted
space I take up.

64
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,800
I'd rather not have been born.
I just writhe and complain.

65
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,720
I wither and scorn.
I wait for a miracle, but I hear

66
00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,000
the piercing in my ear, not from
such noise but from utter

67
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,960
silence is clear.
I tried to control the wind, to

68
00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,640
rid myself of my fears, but the
weight in my chest is filled by

69
00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:35,080
my own tears.
Oh brother, I am sorry you

70
00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,560
cannot join me on my journey.
I always wanted a fresh start.

71
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,240
I just wish it didn't dock so
early.

72
00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:47,760
There it is, Adelaide has
entered the chat.

73
00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,200
Here we go.
Lovely Jordan.

74
00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,200
I really like the piece.
Almost some like in some of its

75
00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,280
language and and structure.
I reckon I got a lot of

76
00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,840
curiosity about where exactly
you've popped up from, Jordan.

77
00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,760
So can you tell us the origin
story of how you started to

78
00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,120
create and more importantly, how
you started to share, Yeah, your

79
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,240
poetry work with the world?
Look, I'm not sure where I've

80
00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,920
even popped up from, or whether
if I've popped up at all.

81
00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,560
You're a mystery to yourself.
I am, yeah.

82
00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:17,839
It's interesting.
I've been thinking about that

83
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:22,280
question for a while and I guess
to give a bit of background, I

84
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,280
started writing when I was 18,
so I'm 28 now.

85
00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:30,360
So roughly about 10 years.
It first sort of started as I

86
00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,000
guess it's journaling.
I think when I hear a lot of

87
00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,760
people talk about when they
first started poetry, a lot of

88
00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,040
people say it is kind of just
like journaling.

89
00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,360
And I remember, you know, sort
of me as a 18 year old, I didn't

90
00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,400
really have much words to
anything.

91
00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,600
But I found that whenever I was
listening to music, I'd be able

92
00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:53,440
to use that sort of rhyming set
in a way that all of a sudden

93
00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,760
the words became a lot easier to
write.

94
00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,000
And I'd find myself sort of
writing in couplets and all that

95
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,160
sort of thing.
And all of a sudden, I was

96
00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:03,760
putting words to how I was
feeling.

97
00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,360
I first started sharing poetry
in 2019.

98
00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,800
I checked that before this on
Instagram.

99
00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:15,280
And I guess part of that process
was honestly just for feedback.

100
00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,600
You know, when you leave school,
that sort of constant feedback

101
00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,320
is kind of gone.
And I think as well, you have

102
00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,000
that sort of thought of like,
well, I can't really show my

103
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,080
friends poetry because I don't
know what they'll think of me.

104
00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,520
Like this is quite vulnerable of
me, what I'm sharing.

105
00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,520
Like, I don't know, what did
they know about poetry?

106
00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,640
Would they just say it's good
and and move on?

107
00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,200
So honestly, it just started out
as well.

108
00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:43,280
If I just share it to a bunch of
strangers and just see what they

109
00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:47,760
think, we can go from there.
It started out as as just purely

110
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,760
the written words and then over
the years it's transformed into

111
00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,720
my face being there a little bit
more and landscape and using the

112
00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,960
beautiful Australian landscape
to show things and yeah, it's

113
00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:02,440
transformed into that.
So it sounds like you kind of

114
00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,880
fell into it in a way.
It was like a wonderful pit full

115
00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,960
of, you know, unicorns and
rainbows that you.

116
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,200
Well, maybe not they they, you
kind of fell into.

117
00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,440
Yeah.
When you said that you were

118
00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,240
looking for feedback, I almost
gasped because I thought, oh

119
00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,000
boy, we do go to the Internet
for feedback sometimes.

120
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,720
Did it feel risky like the first
time before you made the first

121
00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:22,800
click?
Oh, for sure.

122
00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,200
No, no, it wasn't just like I
had the one thought and I was

123
00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:26,480
like, yeah, I'm going to post it
tonight.

124
00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,240
Like this was a long, long time.
Me myself, I'm probably quite

125
00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,160
neurotic, so I can be quite
anxious.

126
00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,200
So it's certainly that was over
a long, long time.

127
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,000
I did eventually start talking
to my friends about it and being

128
00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,280
like, you know, the ones I
really trust and go, you know,

129
00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:41,840
should I do this?
Should I share this?

130
00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:44,000
And they just went, what have
you got to lose?

131
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,280
So I thought, all right, I'll
just do it.

132
00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,840
It's certainly a vulnerable
position.

133
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,400
And at the start, my face was
nowhere to be found.

134
00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,320
People didn't know it was me.
I think I had a different name.

135
00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:56,120
And I just went, oh, here's some
words.

136
00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:57,680
What do you think?
It's like a muscle.

137
00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,280
I think the more that you sort
of put yourself out there and

138
00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:04,200
you put the words on the page
and you know you get good

139
00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,120
feedback, you get bad feedback.
And the more that you do it, I

140
00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,040
guess the more I wouldn't say
comfortable, but the easier it

141
00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,000
becomes.
I'm so glad to hear that because

142
00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,040
we were talking about how I feel
like I'm starting to come out of

143
00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,160
the shadows a bit more in terms
of sharing a bit more of my work

144
00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,040
on on the solo episodes which
people have been listening to.

145
00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,000
I want to ask you though, why do
you think it does feel easier to

146
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,760
sometimes share this stuff with
strangers than those closest to

147
00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:30,520
us?
Do you think we need some of

148
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:34,800
that 6° of separation of that
anonymity to get comfortable?

149
00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,440
Like you said, like a muscle,
our vulnerability muscles are so

150
00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,240
weak that we have to start with
that maybe.

151
00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,800
Oh, for sure.
I think the way that I look at

152
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:46,280
it when I write poetry, it's
kind of like a code in a way.

153
00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,000
If you share it with someone who
knows you, they've already got

154
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,800
the hints to the code.
Whereas if you share it with

155
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,440
someone who doesn't know you,
they use their own imagination

156
00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,080
to come up with what it's about.
There's no like event that they

157
00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,600
know that I've gone through that
they can relate it to or

158
00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,360
anything like that.
And I think that was really what

159
00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,960
like spurred me on was I don't
really mind what people think,

160
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,360
what I was thinking or what they
think the poem's about.

161
00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,360
I was more curious what they
thought the poem was about or

162
00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:17,920
how it related to them and their
experiences.

163
00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,400
Certainly that sort of
separation.

164
00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,800
If you have a really trusted
friend who said they're

165
00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,080
disappointed in you, that's
going to hurt more than someone

166
00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:27,960
you don't know at the base
value.

167
00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,440
Yeah, absolutely.
And look, I've, I've been

168
00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,840
observing you and the community
that you've built and I didn't

169
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:35,880
see any trolls.
I mean, I don't know if you've

170
00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,799
had much experience there, but
it seems like people are really

171
00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:41,799
behaving themselves and really,
really loving what you bring to

172
00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:44,240
the table.
I'm utterly shocked, really.

173
00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,160
I, yeah, I'm very blessed.
I can't believe whenever I read

174
00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,960
people just being so kind and,
you know, people would say I

175
00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,800
read it like this and they point
out certain things that they

176
00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,280
liked.
I mean, even just to put that

177
00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,160
sort of detail in, like, yeah, I
mean, look, there's certainly

178
00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,880
trolls as well, but there's,
yeah, a lot more positive than

179
00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,120
negative.
And yeah, I feel very lucky that

180
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:04,880
that's been the case, because
that's not the case for

181
00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:06,800
everyone.
Fantastic to hear.

182
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,200
So your collection, The Human
Condition, which dropped last

183
00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:14,000
year, it's out there, it's doing
great, it's changing lives and

184
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,840
I'm sure it was a labour of love
for you.

185
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,440
What I want to know is which
poem in that collection was the

186
00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,680
hardest for you to finish, and
what did you kind of learn about

187
00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:27,400
yourself in the process of
getting that right and getting

188
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,520
it to where you wanted it to be?
Yeah, I've got the poem with me.

189
00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:38,640
I think for context, this book
took about five years to put

190
00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,240
together, and that's not me.
Like every night I was writing

191
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,040
poetry.
It was more like getting the

192
00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:50,080
confidence, getting enough work.
I remember I had about 50 poems

193
00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,160
that I wrote, and I was like,
yeah, I'm ready for a book.

194
00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:54,520
And my friend's like, that's not
enough poems.

195
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,040
And I was like, oh, is it?
And then, you know, they'd read

196
00:09:58,040 --> 00:09:59,600
through it and be like, you
know, some of them aren't that

197
00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,320
great either.
And I was like, oh, I need to

198
00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,040
write more poems.
There's that feedback.

199
00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:06,080
Yeah.
So like it was be a five year

200
00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,040
sort of process.
So it it's hard to just say, Oh

201
00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,640
yeah, he was one that was hard
because they all in the sense

202
00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,480
where I guess difficult in that
sense because you just have to

203
00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,800
go, well, it's not just I have
to write a certain amount of

204
00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,400
poems.
It's out of the poems you've

205
00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,440
written, which ones are your
best?

206
00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,120
And that's pretty hard.
Again, we talked about the

207
00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:28,240
feedback, like that's a
difficult process for you to

208
00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,240
actually look at and go, I don't
think any of these are good or

209
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:34,560
the opposite.
I'm like, oh, maybe all these

210
00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:36,680
are good, but which ones is
best?

211
00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:38,720
I don't know.
But yeah, answer your question.

212
00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,320
This one, I guess I'll read it
out for you.

213
00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:42,840
Yeah.
Please.

214
00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:47,800
I sit in my tattered peaks,
crumbled castle, laid waste of

215
00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,880
fake gold and jewels as brittle
as bones.

216
00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,360
Wither away, O heart, till you
feel no more and my suffering

217
00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,920
becomes mute.
Until then, my vision is blurry

218
00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,680
and my angst replies in a hurry
to consume all its worry.

219
00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,440
I repeat to others what is
relayed ringing in my head, what

220
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,080
is heavy in my chest.
If you are alive then you are

221
00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,320
lucky.
Hiddenness claws grip tight and

222
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,120
shreds away its prey to lay
lifeless and dismayed.

223
00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,400
Too reckless to say or do
anything today.

224
00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,800
I sort of remember writing this
and this was years ago.

225
00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:32,960
The idea was I kind of wanted it
to be as convoluted as possible,

226
00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,040
which is not always how you want
to write poetry at all, but it

227
00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:41,160
was like a writing exercise.
What words can I use that sound

228
00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,920
the same and kind of rhyme, but
also don't?

229
00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,680
Can I keep a constant theme?
Can I keep people guessing as

230
00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:49,400
they're reading and they're
going backwards?

231
00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,200
Like a piece where they could
read it a few times and go, it

232
00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,040
doesn't mean this or maybe it
means this.

233
00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:57,640
Yeah.
And I think this is one that I

234
00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,480
had to keep going over.
And when I maybe I'll use this

235
00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,520
word, I'll change this word.
I'll change this word.

236
00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,400
I think a lot of the time maybe
I'll just like to sort of write

237
00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:06,920
in a passion fit.
But This is why I was like, I'm

238
00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,280
going to take my time with it
and use deliberate words,

239
00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:11,800
knowing full well it's not going
to be for everyone.

240
00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,000
But for me, it was like, this is
a cool exercise.

241
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,760
And I think someone may
potentially like, you know, I

242
00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,480
don't really understand this
means, but I like the tone and

243
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,480
the rhythm of it.
Sounds like you made like

244
00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,960
conscious deliberate choices to
give yourself, to give yourself

245
00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,040
a timeline of boundaries and
say, this is what I want to try

246
00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,320
here.
This is not just free verse or a

247
00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,720
free writing activity.
I want to build something

248
00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,240
really, really particular here.
And I think that can be really

249
00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,280
useful, you know, to to give
yourself that scaffolding and

250
00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,200
then fill it in however long it
takes.

251
00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,440
Yeah, I think it's probably the
teacher in me as well.

252
00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,680
Just tell me to give my give
myself a writing exercise

253
00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,040
homework.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

254
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,640
We talked about trolls before,
but I certainly remember you

255
00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:56,600
told me you'd done a bunch of
relief teaching.

256
00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,680
I certainly remember some horror
stories of my time in school, of

257
00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,480
how the sub, as we would say,
would be treated.

258
00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,280
Have you got any funny stories
of just or horror stories of

259
00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,040
just how things have gone when
you've entered as a fresh face

260
00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,960
into a classroom?
People have thought, oh, here we

261
00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:15,640
go.
Yeah, there's certainly a lot of

262
00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:17,480
moments.
There's a lot of moments that

263
00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,280
you walk into a classroom and
you go on, oh, this is I just

264
00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:22,920
need to keep these kids alive.
And that is my goal.

265
00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,560
Like, oh, my goal was going to
be today.

266
00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,800
And you see your relief notes.
One of the killers for me was

267
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,560
like, it was like a 2 hour
session with these kids.

268
00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:36,720
You're 8 boys and it's like play
volleyball and it's like, well,

269
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,640
where do I get the volleyballs?
Where are we playing volleyball?

270
00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,400
I don't know these kids, blah,
blah, blah.

271
00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,240
Yeah, I remember one time
because I guess I was what was

272
00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:50,280
I-25 with some year twelves.
I was teaching year twelves for

273
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,800
the day and I guess that my face
looks a bit young.

274
00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,840
The 1st 5 minutes, everyone was
just chatting and, and whatever.

275
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,200
And I was just sort of, there's
one of those schools that you

276
00:13:58,200 --> 00:13:59,960
sort of didn't say anything.
You have to wait for everyone to

277
00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:02,800
sit down and they all usually do
it and no one was doing it.

278
00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,520
And I was sort of going, well,
what's going on here?

279
00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,080
And eventually I was like, all
right, guys, come sit down.

280
00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:09,520
And they also looked at me
funny.

281
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:11,480
And it was like, what do you
mean?

282
00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:13,480
I was like, I'm your teacher.
It's time.

283
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:14,960
Sit down.
And like, oh, we just thought

284
00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:16,440
you were one of the one of the
boys.

285
00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:17,920
We just thought you were a new
kid.

286
00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,040
We thought you were ASA
Butterfield, you know.

287
00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,080
Yeah, I was like, no, no, no.
And in my head I'm like, oh,

288
00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,000
I've lost them already.
Wow.

289
00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,000
Yeah, yeah.
Jay, as someone who comes from a

290
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,920
family of, of many teachers,
it's a tough gig.

291
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:33,920
It's a tough gig.
And I think the sub is is tough

292
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,040
as well because people might
think you're a mark.

293
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,520
But yeah, good on you for for
getting out there.

294
00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,920
I think therefore our slam is
brought to you by the Slam Fam

295
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:45,520
on Patreon.
Yes.

296
00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,520
These are the generous,
beautiful, creative souls who

297
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,080
help keep the lights on here at
Podcast HQ.

298
00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,160
And for less than the price of a
coffee a month, they get access

299
00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,640
to all types of exclusive
goodies, including bonus

300
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,560
episodes, previews of upcoming
content, new poems and musings

301
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,520
from me, and much more.
To become a member, you can head

302
00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:09,880
on over to patreon.com/I TTIS or
click the link in the

303
00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,000
description.
Now back to the conversation.

304
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,920
Let's talk about Instagram as a
platform because that's where

305
00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:21,080
you've built, you know, this
community of yours.

306
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,120
Now, when I think of Instagram,
when I look at Instagram, I

307
00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,760
mean, I throw up first, but then
I look back at it and I'm, I'm

308
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:29,480
like, there's so much noise
here.

309
00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,560
There's so much speed, There's
so much brevity and instant

310
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,000
gratification.
And I feel like that is always

311
00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,680
bumping its head up against
poetry and, and lingering

312
00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,240
complexities and deep questions
that we might explore in our

313
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,160
work.
How on earth do you go about

314
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:50,680
reconciling demand for quick
engagement with that kind of

315
00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,040
more slower, deliberate pace of
reading and and feeling poetry?

316
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:56,280
It's.
Very tough.

317
00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,680
I wouldn't say I'm an expert at
it at all, but I do think it's

318
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,680
very easy to talk about the
negatives of it, which like you

319
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:05,360
said, I agree with everything
you've said.

320
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:09,000
But there's also, I guess part
of the strength of it.

321
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:14,800
This is how I've looked at it is
am I able to write a short piece

322
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,960
and have the same impact as a
longer piece?

323
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,600
Am I able to write something
that's 8 lines that has the same

324
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:26,600
impact as something that has 16?
Or am I able to give you 4 lines

325
00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,600
that has the same impact as 1000
words?

326
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,040
If you wanted to sound poetic,
I've really lead into that.

327
00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:36,400
I really like that idea.
OK, how can I be so concise with

328
00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,840
my writing and deliver it with
words and be able to portray my

329
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,840
story or my thoughts of what I'm
trying, my purpose of what I'm

330
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,720
trying to write here?
How can someone quickly read

331
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,720
that and go, Yep, got it, yeah,
understand it, Yep or Yep, I

332
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,640
love that line, all that sort of
thing.

333
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,440
So I think the positive of
Instagram is that it can allow

334
00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,720
for that.
It can sort of train you to be

335
00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,400
more deliberate with your words
and not waste your words.

336
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,560
It's interesting what people
sort of pick up as that happens.

337
00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,240
I think as well, like Instagram
is quite rushed and what does

338
00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:15,079
well is not necessarily poetic
at all.

339
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,520
So it can sort of train your
other artistic muscles.

340
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:22,560
I guess for me it was like
landscape and videos and how can

341
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,400
I make a video look beautiful?
How can I do editing?

342
00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:29,560
What music should I use?
That's a really big one because

343
00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,800
there's certainly like there's
certainly I'd say a market, but

344
00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,280
there's certainly a niche for
people who love poetry who are

345
00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:41,280
on Instagram who immediately
pick up a song and go, I love

346
00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:42,960
this song.
And as they're listening to the

347
00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,280
song, they're reading the words
either of the lyrics or they're

348
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,960
reading something.
There are stories playing or

349
00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:50,720
something like, and it captures
them.

350
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,720
And all of a sudden I know for
myself, I'll, I'll send myself

351
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,520
like, I really like that, that
poem.

352
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,320
I really like that story or that
sort of thing and I'll send it

353
00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,440
to myself.
I think the goal is can you get

354
00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,600
someone to slow down and read
your work without it being too

355
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,160
gimmicky I guess.
Yeah.

356
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,800
And look, at the end of the day,
you said that there's people

357
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,400
that this will appeal to and
that's because everyone is here,

358
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,080
so to speak.
Not everyone, but so many people

359
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,800
are here and in amongst those
are people who are going to

360
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,360
appreciate what someone is doing
out there.

361
00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:27,480
I know that there's that classic
like the medium is the message

362
00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,120
quote, right.
And I think about television and

363
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:33,640
film and how those have been
around a while now and we have

364
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:38,920
what we consider to be highbrow
or Classic Cinema, television,

365
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,840
that kind of thing.
The same thing in music.

366
00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,800
I'm not sure if we're seeing
that same thing kind of happen

367
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,040
in the social media age.
I mean, we look back fondly on

368
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,800
maybe platforms like Vine and we
go, oh, there's these classic

369
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:54,640
Vines that became part of the
lexicon.

370
00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:00,960
But I think maybe part of what's
doing it is that real, just like

371
00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,760
my my experience, you know, we
sit down and we watch a film

372
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,160
together.
We're seeing the same thing more

373
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,120
or less, unless we're sitting in
different parts.

374
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,680
I don't know, you start bringing
in the Internet and the way

375
00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,720
social media works.
All of a sudden my experience of

376
00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,080
what this is is completely
different to anyone else's.

377
00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:21,600
Again, the medium is the
message.

378
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,440
We know it's built that way to
sell stuff or keep you on there.

379
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,200
So it's going to be really
interesting to see like, is

380
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,160
there some kind of chart out
there of what is the video that

381
00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,320
the most people in the world
have seen that's hosted on

382
00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,440
Insta, for example?
These aren't questions we're

383
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,600
going to be able to answer
today, but I do think about it's

384
00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,560
a completely different medium
and I do think we are butting

385
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,000
our heads up against it.
But that's part of the journey,

386
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,440
you know, let's do it anyway.
Let's try and find the people

387
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,960
that can appreciate it.
And I think I, I agree with what

388
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,880
you're saying in that it's also
changing so quickly.

389
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,920
Yes, like it's not even.
Oh, you know, in this decade

390
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:03,800
this was the popular television
show.

391
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,560
People love dramas or whatever.
It's like every year, like

392
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,240
there's something not even every
year, like every few months

393
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,960
there's a new flavour that's all
of a sudden popular and then all

394
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:14,400
of a sudden it's never seen
again.

395
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,640
If you have that sort of idea of
like everyone, try and keep up

396
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:19,640
with that.
You'll get pretty exhausted

397
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:21,360
pretty quickly.
Yeah, absolutely.

398
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,480
It reminded me of catching up
with a friend recently and we

399
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,600
were just chatting about things
and, you know, we were talking

400
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,040
about TV and he he just seemed
kind of shocked that I wasn't

401
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:32,960
watching all the things that
that he was.

402
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,000
And I was like that.
That's just how it is.

403
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,280
Like there is there is less and
less shared cultural language.

404
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,120
Do you know what I mean?
I'm a bit old fashioned in that

405
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,760
I love going to the cinema.
I love being able to experience

406
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,560
the same thing.
I love live music.

407
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,600
I do not record stuff on my
phone very much at all.

408
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,800
I wanna be there with the people
as much as I can.

409
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,320
So I don't know whether we can
bring that to social media.

410
00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:01,520
But like you said, maybe it's
it's finding a way to slow

411
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,320
someone down and get someone to
to think about something.

412
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:06,800
Yeah.
And look, I think as well like

413
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,080
connections really important.
Again, that's why I've been

414
00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:11,800
really lucky is that like I've
been able and I think a lot of

415
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,800
people in that I know in like
the poetry circles with an

416
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,280
Instagram is like connection
with other poets, connection

417
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,320
with people who like your
poetry, showing genuine

418
00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,240
interests.
Really a bigger genuine person.

419
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:28,040
It really cuts through on
Instagram like people can tell

420
00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,080
if you're being genuine and if
you're genuinely interested in

421
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,000
in what you're doing and
passionate about it.

422
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,240
I guess it's like you would any
like small social group, like

423
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,880
it's showing your interests and
showing your interests and the

424
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:40,560
people who are interested in
your things.

425
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,280
And look, full credit to your
community.

426
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:46,800
One of the things that they've
done, which is is amazing, is

427
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:51,240
they actually helped translate
some of your work into multiple

428
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,640
global languages.
That's incredible.

429
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:55,200
What?
What does it mean to you to have

430
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,720
people buy into your work so
deeply that they would offer to

431
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:01,720
do this?
When when I first started

432
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,320
posting in 2019, that was not
what I envisioned at all.

433
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,160
No, and it's something way
greater than I could ever

434
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,280
imagine.
And even if just two people did

435
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,320
it, you know, I remember the
first person who did it, I was

436
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,000
like, I can't believe you can
even do this because poetry is

437
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,000
sort of like its own language in
itself.

438
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,080
Like English is, I guess, hard
enough for other people to

439
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,080
learn.
But I said before, like, poetry

440
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:25,760
is kind of like it's got its own
code.

441
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,240
How do you even do that?
I think the best thing about

442
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,600
that is other people's, I guess
cultures certainly, but how

443
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:40,320
poetry is received and written
and shown in different cultures,

444
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,240
like just how much weight it
has.

445
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,240
What's the example?
Like China, It's, it's got such

446
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,560
like so many poems are it's
written completely different to

447
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,280
how English poetry is written,
yet it's got so much historical

448
00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:57,520
weight to it and culture.
And it's like that everywhere.

449
00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,800
And unfortunately, the
translations, they're really

450
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:02,760
going to be as good as the
original.

451
00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:06,160
But even just for someone to get
like, oh, I sort of get what

452
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,280
that's about and I can put that
in my own language.

453
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,160
And that's why, again, I really
like, it's like, I don't really

454
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:15,040
mind what people think, what my
poems about, if they're able to

455
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,520
even create something from it
and go, this is what I think

456
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,480
it's about.
This is my that I can write in

457
00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,040
my language and share it with
people around me.

458
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,120
I just think, wow, all power to
you.

459
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:27,000
That's awesome.
What's your favorite language

460
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,840
that it's been translated to?
What what?

461
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,520
What sounds the nicest once
you've seen the the end result?

462
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,440
Well, I, I think there's always,
you know, the main ones,

463
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,800
Portuguese and Spanish.
Great, that's happened a lot

464
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,480
that, that they sound lovely.
They sound like it's just such a

465
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,360
romantic language.
It's like French.

466
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:47,280
It's all just, like, beautiful.
Yeah.

467
00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:51,400
There's Indonesian as well,
Arabic as well, like Arabic.

468
00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,920
That's really cool.
And I learned so much from

469
00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:00,000
people from those areas, just
how much importance poetry is to

470
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,240
their culture.
And I had no idea, you know,

471
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,040
living in Australia where so far
from, you know, most countries,

472
00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:08,880
you just don't have any idea of,
you know, what poetry means to

473
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,880
them.
And it means a lot, I think

474
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:15,400
Chinese as well at that.
I've got another account app

475
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,480
called Red Note that that's
doing pretty well.

476
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,960
The history with, with China and
poetry is really fascinating.

477
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,560
Certainly sounds a lot different
to English, but it's the the

478
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,160
set, the sound of it is
different, but each word has way

479
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:33,160
more weight and way more meaning
than each one of our words.

480
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,400
And that's like such a cool
thing to to understand.

481
00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,720
Beautiful, beautiful.
Well, Jordan, let's hear your

482
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,480
next piece, I reckon.
Sure thing.

483
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,680
Some context behind this one as
well.

484
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,880
Over the last couple years, I
realized that a lot of the stuff

485
00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,200
that I would write would be
quite, I guess, negative just

486
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,720
because it's so much easier to
write things that evoke strong

487
00:24:55,720 --> 00:25:00,440
emotions, sadness, I guess, joy,
frustration.

488
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:02,680
Like it's just that just comes
so naturally.

489
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,240
And I think recently I'm trying
to have this way of writing.

490
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,120
Well, I'll start with that and
then can I finish off with a

491
00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:13,280
hopeful note?
So I guess this is a poem that

492
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:18,120
hopefully tries to achieve that.
Whenever I consider how my light

493
00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:22,720
is spent, I questioned where my
loyalty lies, where I choose to

494
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,280
shine upon.
They're also blindness Can

495
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:29,400
pursue my eyes to illuminate the
dark with a single glimpse.

496
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,720
I wish for any suffering to
leave swiftly, yet I must trust

497
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:39,200
my intuition upon which I shone,
to muster courage to believe if

498
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,960
a good deed is done.
I spend so much energy at night

499
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:47,120
to tame my eyes, to be still,
Yet my irises crave the light of

500
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:50,120
the moon.
My arms covert the wood of the

501
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:54,400
window seal, Though the sun
creates a shade, And your shadow

502
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,120
may be bleak, dark as the night,
lurking to pray when you are

503
00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:00,880
weak, need not to turn around to
fight.

504
00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,680
May you follow the sunshine, may
you follow the light.

505
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:11,200
Yeah, no, I totally felt that
that journey like you said of of

506
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,240
wanting to start in one place
and end up on another.

507
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,240
Yeah, beautiful mate.
Now a little bit of a rapid fire

508
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,240
round if you like.
Now I'm always interested in

509
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,760
people's influences who who
they've drawn upon.

510
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:32,600
So can you give us 1 poet, 1
songwriter and maybe one non

511
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,360
writer who shapes the voice
behind your work and and how?

512
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,720
Yeah, for sure.
I think 1 poet.

513
00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,320
Something that I really like to
do is I like to collect old

514
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,360
poetry books.
I just love how it's written and

515
00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,520
they look so beautiful.
Yeah, I just love the aesthetic

516
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,920
of them.
So my first ever book that I

517
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,600
poetry book that I ever bought
was this one here, Low Lingdon

518
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,480
Downs by John Maysfield.
I remember looking and reading

519
00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,760
the words and being like, wow,
this is really good.

520
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,400
If I could write half as good as
this guy, that's what I want to

521
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,320
try to achieve.
But yeah, so certainly his work.

522
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,960
Whenever I feel I'm in a slump,
I'll read this book.

523
00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,000
I'll try to get inspiration from
it.

524
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,280
One songwriter is hard.
There's so many.

525
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,520
But I think one that's really
interests me that has shown

526
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:23,240
through at the moment, like also
in the like, you know, Instagram

527
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,560
and that sort of market is Sam
Fender.

528
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,360
Yeah, great.
I loved his work right from the

529
00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:33,680
start, and he's a poet like, he
is a true lyricist, like real

530
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,120
Bruce Springsteen, like put you
on a journey like.

531
00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:39,800
People watching is wonderful,
lovely.

532
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:42,600
Yeah, yeah.
And it's just like the words

533
00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:46,120
that he uses are incredible.
What's the one?

534
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:50,680
I looked at that before.
It's one of his famous rainy and

535
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,120
it's in the chorus like usually
like the beautiful pieces is

536
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,960
like somewhere scattered around
in the verses.

537
00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,320
And to see him collaborate with
old mate from the war on drugs,

538
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,440
like, I just think that's a
brilliant pairing to, to bring

539
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:08,120
that kind of almost shoegazy
aesthetic to to his work.

540
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:09,240
Yeah.
Big fan.

541
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,640
Yeah, that this line, I'm
working myself up to a nice warm

542
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,880
bliss.
All my memories of you ring like

543
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,640
tinnitus.
I was just like, that is such a

544
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,160
strong chorus.
Like that's such a strong line

545
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,720
to put in the chorus.
That's not catchy at all.

546
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,520
Like who's singing tinnitus?
But it's it fits so well.

547
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,800
It fits like the the rhyme and
the rhythm of the song.

548
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:33,120
And he obviously pairs it with
just this beautiful

549
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:35,520
musicianship.
But yes, so my last 1.

550
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,200
So it's meant to be rapid fire
and I've I've gone way over, but

551
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:39,800
that's fine.
The non writer.

552
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,640
I started writing when I was 18
because of a memory that I had

553
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:50,040
of a teacher in Year 5.
And I remember it was a we just

554
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:51,760
wrote.
We had to write a poem about

555
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,080
something.
And I remember writing the poem

556
00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:55,920
and going, oh, this is actually
kind of easy.

557
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,080
Like this is just coming a bit
naturally to me.

558
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,280
And I remember the teacher,
like, pausing and saying, like,

559
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,640
oh, Jordan, this is really good.
Usually it was like, oh, yeah,

560
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:07,280
Jordan, this is great with,
like, most stuff.

561
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,320
But I remember with her being
like, oh, this is great.

562
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:13,880
And like, show the whole class.
That memory has never escaped

563
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:15,120
me.
I don't remember anything else

564
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,400
about school, but that one for
some reason just like stuck with

565
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,280
me.
So I guess that just talks about

566
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,280
the power of, I guess one
compliment that you know a

567
00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,720
teacher or someone that you
value can make.

568
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,320
And was that part of your steps
towards doing some of that

569
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,160
relief teaching work later?
Yeah, for sure.

570
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:35,640
It certainly influenced how I
spoke to the students.

571
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,560
Like, even if I'm just here for
a day, could I just give one

572
00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,440
compliment to someone that
would, you know, make them think

573
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,560
twice, like, oh, actually maybe
I can do this, you know,

574
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,640
something like that.
It's weird, you know, like we

575
00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,280
all have an age where we have
our first memories, right?

576
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:53,240
Like where it's usually, I mean,
for me it was maybe 4 years old

577
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,680
or something.
So you've got consciousness,

578
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,320
you've got memories.
But I consider maybe the age of,

579
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:05,320
oh, Gee, I'm going to say like
10 or 11 where all of a sudden

580
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,840
like life started to have this
amazing like weight to it, for

581
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,760
better or worse.
You know, maybe it's just part

582
00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,480
of growing up.
And, and I certainly remember my

583
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,520
first experience of, I don't
know, stepping out on a stage

584
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,400
for a little pantomime or, or
something, and that just being

585
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,320
like a really big deal.
When I got feedback for that, I

586
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,440
was like, wow, I when I make
choices, it actually has an

587
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,000
effect.
Like I push and something moves.

588
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,800
You know what I mean?
Like it sounds so simple, but it

589
00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:35,680
takes a long time for personal
agency to grow as a young

590
00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,160
person, so for you to exercise
that and for that to be affirmed

591
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,880
in the classroom is huge.
Yeah, I think as well.

592
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,120
Like I guess talking to
teachers, but you don't realize

593
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,120
what something really means to a
kid because the kid doesn't

594
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,240
realize either until it's been
and done.

595
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,200
Then all of a sudden it's like,
oh, actually that meant a big

596
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:57,320
deal to me and the feedback I
got was great.

597
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,520
Now I'm heading in this
direction for the rest of my

598
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:01,200
life.
Like it can be as simple as

599
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:02,840
that.
It's crazy to think about.

600
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,880
It's awesome too.
Hey, quick pep talk.

601
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,760
If you're enjoying the episode,
I'd love it if you could leave a

602
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:15,240
rating review, comment or like
wherever you're listening right

603
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:16,920
now.
You know how this works.

604
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,720
Every little bit of digital
interaction helps people to find

605
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,000
the show and keeps the poetry
flowing.

606
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,080
And if you want to do something
extra special, please share the

607
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,120
episode with someone who you
think will vibe with it.

608
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,080
That also helps with all of the
above.

609
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:31,920
Thanks so much for listening.
And now back to our guest.

610
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:38,200
Let's talk a bit about your
particular, what I'm going to

611
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,520
call your visual aesthetic
because I reckon there are a lot

612
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:45,640
of writers out there who have
trouble with the how of sharing

613
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,960
their work digitally.
I'm certainly one of them.

614
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:52,360
Like, I am trying to figure out
how do I represent something,

615
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:56,920
which is typically an audio
experience for me in a way that

616
00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,760
is appealing and at the very
least watchable.

617
00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,840
You know?
Do you have any like processes

618
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,040
or tips that you use to create a
visual aesthetic?

619
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,160
I mean, it seems like you're in
a perpetual golden hour when

620
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,360
you're recording stuff, mate.
So do you go and research

621
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,240
locations and be like, Oh yeah,
this is where I'll do my thing?

622
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:14,600
Or is it just your backyard?
Just.

623
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,800
Blessed live in Australia really
the the sunsets are beautiful.

624
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,960
I'm obsessed with some sun.
It's the moment, so it's just

625
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,680
appearing and everything and it
always looks good on camera.

626
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,120
But again, I won't say I'm an
expert in this.

627
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:32,320
It's very difficult and I think
it's sort of you need to access

628
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:34,720
all parts of your artistic
brain.

629
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:39,240
Like it's not just, I refuse to
believe if someone can write a

630
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:40,680
poem that that's all they can
do.

631
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,000
You'll be surprised what else
you can actually do even

632
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,200
visually.
And I think it's taking

633
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,200
inspiration.
You don't need to start off as

634
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,520
an expert.
Certainly when I first started,

635
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,720
I would just experiment with
different photos, different

636
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:55,960
visuals.
And I look at that, you know,

637
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:57,440
there's some of the stuff I
posted years ago.

638
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:59,160
I'm going that does not look
good at all.

639
00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:01,200
What was I thinking?
But that's OK.

640
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,720
Like it's just, you know, you
really have to squash that

641
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,160
perfectionism and just sort of
like I said, you've got to grow

642
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,120
that muscle and be like, I'm
just going to try it.

643
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,640
I don't think anyone really is
going to say any sort of

644
00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:16,160
feedback about it, but you can
figure out what's working and

645
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,480
what isn't.
But yeah, take inspiration.

646
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,360
Like, you know, take inspiration
from music videos, from movies,

647
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,400
from other artists.
There are some really awesome

648
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:31,480
poets who capture, like, small
movie moments and then add their

649
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:34,600
poetry into it.
Like they somehow just able to

650
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:38,840
do that, I guess.
The hell is you just got to try?

651
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:40,400
Like what?
What works for you?

652
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:42,200
Like what?
What movies do you like?

653
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:45,160
Play off your strengths, play to
what you lean towards.

654
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:47,880
You don't need to try someone
else's vision, but taking

655
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,800
inspiration never hurts either.
It helps to be photogenic like

656
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,200
yourself mate.
Like I said, you got your

657
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,960
piercing blue eyes staring at us
while you're doing some love

658
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,800
poem or something.
It's, it's very moving.

659
00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,200
Thank you.
I reckon so many of us need to

660
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,960
give ourselves permission to
just be crap at something.

661
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,760
And that's hard because I'm sure
we all have day jobs where if we

662
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,120
were crap at our day job, like
we probably wouldn't last very

663
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,199
long.
So we, we build up this thing of

664
00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:15,760
like, well, to be an adult is to
be good at everything.

665
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,520
I try my hand at which ends up
with a very restrictive life.

666
00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:20,760
That's certainly what I've
found.

667
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,639
I've found that my my own
insecurity and fear of trying

668
00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:27,080
something new has definitely
helped me back.

669
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:28,679
I'm on this journey like anyone
else.

670
00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:34,040
So just just like do something
in the same way that you would

671
00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:37,239
do it when you were 10 years old
and you didn't have all that

672
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:38,920
other baggage.
You got to find some way to

673
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:40,520
access that area of yourself, I
think.

674
00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:42,920
For sure.
And it's all like, you know,

675
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:46,480
what are your expectations?
If you're will it, you know, if

676
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,840
you're writing poetry to be a
millionaire, that's not really

677
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:51,880
going to happen, is it?
But if you have that mindset,

678
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,639
because I can sort of sneak up,
then you're going to put so much

679
00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:58,760
pressure on every poem you
write, everything you post, all

680
00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:01,000
that sort of thing.
But if you have the expectation

681
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,960
of, well, this is my passion
project.

682
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,560
Yes.
It's very personal and very

683
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:06,720
vulnerable.
And if someone were to say

684
00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:09,040
something, you'd be a troll.
Like, obviously that's going to

685
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,880
hurt.
But if I post something, I'm

686
00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:14,880
still going to be OK the next
day.

687
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:16,840
Like, physically I'm going to be
OK.

688
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,160
Like all these sort of things.
Yeah.

689
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:22,000
It's sort of like reminding
yourself of like, therefore I

690
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,600
can make a mistake and
everything will still be OK.

691
00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:27,960
But again, like, it's there's
such a muscle.

692
00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,400
Like you don't have start off,
you start off slow.

693
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,120
Like what I did.
Like I literally just did my

694
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,840
poem white background bang, and
that was it.

695
00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:39,120
And like, that was enough for me
to be like, yeah, this is a

696
00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,240
vulnerable space for me to be
in, but I'm happy to be sharing

697
00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:43,560
something.
And every once in a while,

698
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,760
someone might say something, and
that just meant the world to me.

699
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,440
I've just finished reading the
latest book by Ben Crowe.

700
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:55,240
So he was Ash Barty's kind of
mindset coach during her prime,

701
00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:57,480
if you like.
And he's constantly talking

702
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:01,320
about finding a sense of play to
take pressure off yourself.

703
00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,480
You know, that's what he uses
for elite athletes.

704
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:04,760
But I think it's applicable to
everyone.

705
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:08,440
If you're playing, you can't
lose no matter the situation

706
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:10,600
you're you're in.
If you take the stakes down to

707
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:13,760
just like, let's find something
out, you know, all of a sudden

708
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,760
it's like the relaxed body
language comes in and you can do

709
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:18,120
your thing.
No, that's great.

710
00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,480
Cool.
I want to now dive into some

711
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,880
familiar waters, which I've
covered before on the podcast,

712
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:27,560
but I do like diving into it
with people who are up for it.

713
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:29,360
I want to know if you can tell
me more.

714
00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:32,120
Sorry, I was going to say this
is my very much my my Stephen

715
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:33,440
Colbert moment with all this
stuff.

716
00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:35,200
Yeah.
Can you tell me more about the

717
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,520
what I'm going to call the
intersection of like, faith and

718
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,760
creativity in your life?
Like, how do you see those two

719
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:43,680
things dancing together, so to
speak?

720
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:45,240
For sure.
It's such a great question.

721
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:49,640
I think I'm certainly a
Christian and it's my #1 like

722
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:56,560
most important thing in my life.
And I think it's sort of because

723
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,000
it is.
It'll sort of play out in

724
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,320
everything, hopefully in
everything that I do.

725
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:06,280
So if I am writing a poem, like
it'll be sort of intertwined

726
00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,040
somehow.
And look at this hit like

727
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,840
there's such a history of, you
know, Christianity, religion,

728
00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:16,400
whatever, of just so much art.
Like if you're passionate about

729
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,840
something, art is created.
So I'm passionate about

730
00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:22,160
Christianity.
So art about it is, is going to

731
00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,960
be created no matter what.
Because if you're inclined, like

732
00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:27,080
I am like it sort of comes out
of you.

733
00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:30,640
And so, yeah, I think like
certainly like in the Bible,

734
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:32,800
there's, there's lots of poems
in there, there's lots of

735
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:36,240
silence, there's lots of people
shaking their fists at God.

736
00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:39,120
And then there's also adoration,
and there's Christian music, and

737
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:40,760
there's.
It's a lot of genres, you know.

738
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,240
A lot of genres, you know,
history, there's paintings,

739
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:47,920
there's, there's so much, yeah.
Christian music these days, all

740
00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:49,160
that sort of thing.
Movies.

741
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,560
If you want to share your art,
you're sharing a part of

742
00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:55,000
yourself and a part of your
vulnerability.

743
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,600
And as you're doing that, if
something means so much to you,

744
00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:02,000
like it's naturally just going
to show, it's risky as well.

745
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,400
Like anything, like you share a
part of yourself, it's always

746
00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:09,440
going to be vulnerable.
But yeah, I try to show it when

747
00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:11,960
I can.
I don't all the time, but when I

748
00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:15,360
do, yeah, you find that other
people also can can relate to

749
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:16,640
it.
Yeah, No, that's great.

750
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:21,000
And I think whatever people may
believe, like there is a space

751
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,960
for you to to share that through
your creative medium.

752
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,120
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.

753
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,120
And, and for that to contribute
to, I don't know, I guess the

754
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:33,640
broader cultural conversation
and, and we, we've, there's so

755
00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:35,720
many contemporary examples of
this.

756
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:40,320
I mean, everything from you to
to Lauren Daigle, you know,

757
00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:43,480
this, these kind of people.
So I'm always interested, like,

758
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,560
are are there any artists in in
that kind of corner who really

759
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,960
inspire you?
It's interesting even like

760
00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:53,000
Boniver, like he's not
necessarily the data that they

761
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:54,760
don't think he calls himself a
Christian, but he's written

762
00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:56,640
songs about his struggle with
Christianity.

763
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:59,080
Heavenly Father's a really great
song, a great example.

764
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:02,040
Of that did Have you seen the
recording of that at the Opera

765
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:03,480
House or whatever?
It's stunning.

766
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,520
It's unbelievable.
But like, you know, what a what

767
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:08,720
a beautiful piece.
Just talking about the struggle

768
00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:11,240
between, you know, he means
relationship with God.

769
00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:14,040
There's certainly lots of
Christians artists out there.

770
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:17,280
Like the one that does come to
mind is Justin Bieber.

771
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,360
He's written some songs about
it.

772
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:23,040
And again, it's more just him
showing that vulnerability, that

773
00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:25,440
side of him.
And it's like, well, that music

774
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,760
is coming from him.
I don't know if that's really

775
00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:29,400
from the label or anything like
that.

776
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:32,360
So just the ability that he's
able to do that, like that's

777
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,800
pretty daring because I don't
think many people would respond

778
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,240
to it very well.
Yeah, you too, obviously is a

779
00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:39,480
great example.
I'm sure there's more.

780
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,760
I can't think of any at the
moment, but yeah, it's very

781
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:47,600
brave religion or anything that
you know that is vulnerable to

782
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:50,960
them to be able to share that.
I guess if anything, you know,

783
00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:55,440
my own faith journey has led me
to value earnestness in people,

784
00:39:55,720 --> 00:39:59,000
like wherever they're at.
Yeah, when you see someone in a

785
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:03,560
moment of genuine questioning
anguish about the big things

786
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,560
about life.
Like what, what are you gonna do

787
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:08,560
in that moment?
How are you gonna respond?

788
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:12,640
And I'm so drawn to try and meet
those people where they're at

789
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,520
because I know what that feels
like.

790
00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:17,760
And again, we we see that
through faith inspired art and

791
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:22,800
literature throughout history.
So to be able to be a small part

792
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,240
of that or whatever I think is
is, is really cool.

793
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:27,680
Yeah, absolutely.
Let's look towards the future.

794
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,960
Now what?
What are you currently kind of

795
00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,040
working on?
Is there a second book in the

796
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:36,280
process or have you got the the
foot off the off the accelerator

797
00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:37,920
at the moment?
What's what's happening?

798
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:41,360
It's it's tricky because sort of
like we mentioned, like

799
00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,080
Instagram and social media is
such a machine.

800
00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:48,480
If you don't keep up with it,
then you know, you do get left

801
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,600
behind a little bit.
But I think for the moment,

802
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:53,360
there's certainly a book,
There's certainly another book

803
00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,320
that's coming.
The last one took five years,

804
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,680
this one may take 4.
Like I may have speed up a

805
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:02,320
little bit, but it's still, you
know, such a process.

806
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:04,960
But that's that you like I said,
it's a passion project, so I'm

807
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,960
more than happy to do that.
I have this other the I guess

808
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:09,880
that red note account that's
doing well as well.

809
00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:13,560
So being able to share that in a
completely different country is

810
00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:16,280
really cool.
But I think for myself,

811
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:18,840
honestly, the thing that I'm
telling myself more is like, I

812
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,160
need to be more disciplined with
writing.

813
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:26,720
Like I need to separate myself
from sharing sometimes and just

814
00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:30,560
get back to, you know, why did
you start writing to begin with?

815
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:34,760
What was the purpose for it and
sort of finding that enjoyment

816
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:38,480
of the process again?
And I think that's like, you'll

817
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,240
hear so many artists say that,
like, it's pretty cliche, but

818
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,880
it's amazing how true it is.
You just get lost in this world

819
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:47,200
of, Oh my God, I got a post
three times this week.

820
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:49,640
I got to make sure a post is
done, exhaust, all that sort of

821
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,920
thing, exhort and life gets busy
and you just go, well, what's

822
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:55,960
more important?
It's like we're finding that

823
00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,200
love and that passion and or
even, you know, the days I'm

824
00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:01,720
like, I'm not, I don't want to
write a poem, but it's like I'm

825
00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:05,120
going to sit myself with music
for 10 minutes and just write

826
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,800
whatever.
Like all of a sudden it's the

827
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,320
like journaling.
Like I feel great afterwards.

828
00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:15,760
Yeah, like a deliberate practice
that allows you that longevity

829
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:19,960
to be like, OK, it's it.
We're not trying to post 3 * a

830
00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:22,960
week.
We're going to post once a month

831
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:26,240
for 20 years or something or or
even not making that many plans,

832
00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:29,320
just saying what what happens.
I think that's that's super

833
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:31,760
important.
Jordan, I want to invite you now

834
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:35,840
into the overarching creative
metaphor that we've been using

835
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:39,160
for Season 3.
I want to know if your creative

836
00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:42,280
work is like a colour or a shade
on the colour spectrum.

837
00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:46,000
What is it and why?
I think to continue the theme of

838
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,560
what my Instagram looks like at
the moment, it it'll be sunset

839
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:52,880
Orange, I guess is, is what I
would, I would say or brown.

840
00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:56,760
I kind of like brown because
it's like I, I try to put a mix

841
00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:59,240
of everything in my life.
You put all the colours together

842
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:02,520
and, and it turns into brown.
But there's a beauty in brown.

843
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:04,760
Like it's one of my favorite
colours.

844
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:07,720
So I quite like it.
But yeah, certainly the sunset

845
00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:09,960
orange.
I just, I can, I can stare at

846
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,600
that for a long time.
I thought you might have

847
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:15,520
something like that, so we'll
say it's Sunset orange or Golden

848
00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:17,760
Rod or yeah, whatever you want.
To yeah, that's yeah.

849
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:21,480
Fantastic.
Now we turn our attention to the

850
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:24,640
segment shamelessly ripped off
Diary of a CEO.

851
00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:28,760
We call it Diary of a POET.
You've been left a question from

852
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:31,560
my previous guest.
So Jordan, this comes from

853
00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:36,320
Alyssa Pacheco, who asks, what
is your secret ingredients to

854
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:40,080
conjuring up or tapping into
your creative essence?

855
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:42,800
What's your What's your your
salt Bay that you put on the

856
00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,160
top?
Yeah, it's nothing fancy.

857
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:49,000
I've mentioned it before.
I literally will sit myself in a

858
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:54,120
room and I will play the saddest
music I have possible and I will

859
00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:56,520
just start writing and just
start going.

860
00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:59,720
What am I feeling?
What's going on in my brain?

861
00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:04,000
What am I stressed about?
And then by the end of it, I try

862
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,840
to come up with a bit more
lighthearted, like what do I

863
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:09,800
find beautiful?
Like the sunsets, the the

864
00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:12,000
landscape, what are the things
I'm enjoying?

865
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:15,040
It's sort of going through that
cathartic process of I'm

866
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,480
struggling with this.
I'm going to sit and be

867
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:21,680
emotional with the music and any
sort of song that builds, I'm a

868
00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:24,240
sucker for.
So Boniver fits perfectly with

869
00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:25,600
that.
Death gap for Cutie maybe?

870
00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:28,160
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.

871
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:30,200
Literally just force.
Like you just have to force

872
00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:33,600
yourself.
What I'm hearing is like not

873
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:37,320
isolation, but solitude, right?
Solitude.

874
00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:41,240
And obviously your love of music
shines through people who might

875
00:44:41,240 --> 00:44:43,600
hear that and go, oh, you know,
I don't know.

876
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,560
I don't know if I could do that,
that honestly, this sounds like

877
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:49,640
such a healthy way of processing
emotion, you know, healthier

878
00:44:49,640 --> 00:44:53,960
than than doing some compulsive
whatever that that turns off,

879
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:55,240
you know, your frontal lobe or
whatever.

880
00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:57,920
That sounds like, like like
heaven.

881
00:44:57,960 --> 00:44:59,920
That sounds great.
Yeah, yeah.

882
00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,720
Like I won't be sitting in the
room for 24 hours doing it, No.

883
00:45:02,720 --> 00:45:04,680
No, of course not.
It's just one part of your life.

884
00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:07,120
That's right.
And you allow yourself to feel

885
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,720
the emotion of what's going on.
You'll be surprised what's

886
00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:12,560
coming out as you're riding.
And then by the end you go, all

887
00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:14,120
right, what do I, what am I
enjoying?

888
00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:16,320
What am I thankful for?
And I can write about that,

889
00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:18,160
Write a poem about that.
Right.

890
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:20,120
Do you?
Do you own a typewriter?

891
00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,920
Yes, O in two.
You own 2.

892
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:26,040
Tell us what models like what's
what's on there?

893
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:27,800
I wouldn't be able to tell you
the models.

894
00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:30,960
I just, I like the look of them.
But the old, just like, like I

895
00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:34,320
said, the old sort of books and
the old typewriter are like that

896
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:37,760
sort of aesthetic.
But yeah, no, my first one I got

897
00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,000
I think 3 or 4 years ago and it
works.

898
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:43,200
And that was so awesome.
And it was another one that I

899
00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,720
got from Savers last year that I
also love.

900
00:45:45,720 --> 00:45:47,840
What a find.
Couldn't believe it.

901
00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:51,440
Couldn't believe it, $40.
Well, this is and it works.

902
00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:54,080
I reckon you could eat off that,
it's extremely well preserved.

903
00:45:54,240 --> 00:45:56,160
Yeah, I couldn't believe it when
I saw it.

904
00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,400
And yeah, literally $40 and I
thought I must have it and then

905
00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:01,880
I didn't expect it to work.
Works great.

906
00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,240
Fantastic.
Well, Jordan, you now get to

907
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:06,080
write your own little chapter in
the book.

908
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:07,880
That is, I think therefore I
slam.

909
00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:11,880
What is the question that you're
leaving for my next guest sight

910
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:13,080
unseen?
Yes.

911
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:17,640
The question is, does poetry
evoke emotion or is it a result

912
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:21,440
of emotions?
That is probably the ultimate

913
00:46:21,440 --> 00:46:24,800
chicken and egg, isn't it?
It is, and I think that's the

914
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:26,280
point.
I want them to sort of go around

915
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,280
in circles and see what they
think when they come up with.

916
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:32,080
OK wow, the gauntlet has been
thrown down.

917
00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:35,120
The glove slap has happened, but
how dare you?

918
00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:36,840
It's all come out.
You're challenging my next guest

919
00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:38,240
to a duel.
That's what's that's what's

920
00:46:38,240 --> 00:46:39,400
going on.
Yeah, that's right.

921
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:43,280
Jordan Thompson If people want
to see what all the fuss is

922
00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:45,440
about, if they want to follow
what you're doing, if they want

923
00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:49,920
to buy your book, if they want
to keep tabs on the the great

924
00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:52,480
work that you're putting out
there, where's the best place or

925
00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:57,320
places that they should go?
Essentially Instagram J dot T

926
00:46:57,320 --> 00:47:00,200
dot Elliott poultry best best
place to do it.

927
00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:05,080
I've got links there which has
the book on Amazon digital and

928
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:09,320
you can buy physical as well.
Honestly, I'm happy for anyone

929
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:11,720
to reach out.
Like I'm happy to chat about

930
00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:13,880
anything.
But also I'm just, yeah, I'm

931
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:18,000
super privileged and super happy
to be on here chatting with you.

932
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:20,360
It's been awesome.
And yeah, you've had some

933
00:47:20,360 --> 00:47:24,400
amazing guests and to be a part
of them is such a privilege, so

934
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:27,400
I really appreciate it.
No, likewise, mate, we're ready

935
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:31,160
for your your final piece for
tonight before we wrap things

936
00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:32,360
up.
Blow us away, mate.

937
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:34,880
I might give a short one
considering a lot of my stuff is

938
00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:36,480
short.
Here we go.

939
00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:39,760
Yeah, this is the one that a
short piece.

940
00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:42,480
This is the one that's I think
most people enjoy.

941
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:47,440
From my Instagram account.
Does beauty sing or whispered

942
00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:50,960
gently to you?
For I've heard her call and seen

943
00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:54,040
it's you.
So I shall bear my heart for you

944
00:47:54,520 --> 00:47:57,520
to be in your neat room.
I'll be home soon.

945
00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:02,040
We can stare at the moon, hold
hands in the dusk of its gloom.

946
00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:04,920
Short and sweet and simple.
Short and sweet.

947
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:08,400
That's how we like it.
Jordan Thompson, we will see you

948
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:11,680
in the glow of many a sunset
into the future as you continue

949
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:14,040
to bring forth your wonderful
work.

950
00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:16,720
Thank you so much for thinking
with us and slamming with us

951
00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:18,120
today.
Thank you so much, really

952
00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:26,360
appreciate it.
Wait, your big sands?

953
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:27,320
What's that all about?