Strands of Genius: Messages on the Road, Monetizing Poems, Things That Move Us

Guest curated by Kyle Studstill, Marketing Director, The Poetry Society Of New York

Jul 04, 2024

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, KYLE STUDSTILL ::

LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY

Kyle is a Brooklyn-based performance poet, word artist, and visual artist. He is currently the Marketing Director of the Poetry Society of New York, but cut his teeth in the marketing world as a Trends Consultant for PSFK and in agencies like Havas, Sub Rosa, and JWT. His story-driven writing has been appeared in Monocle Magazine, CreativeMornings, and Fast Company. His visual art has been featured by NYC street art pillars Up Magazine, Sour Mouse, 188 Allen and Soiree Henzo. His performance poetry has been featured by the Poetry Brothel, Inspired Word NYC, and the New York City Poetry Festival.

Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): Kyle was one of our early friends in NYC, and we always loved getting to spend time with him, whether at networking events or the No Pants Subway Ride. We are excited to have Kyle guest curating this edition today — His creative energy and talent are truly inspiring!

:: THE LINKS ::

MESSAGES ON THE ROAD

My life as a strategist started in innovation and technology, so another bridge into poetry for me was theVERSEverse, an organization defining the future of literature on the blockchain in the era of the metaverse. Believing that poetry truly belongs everywhere, founders Ana Maria Caballero, Kalen Iwamoto, and Sasha Stiles have carved paths for crypto-native poetry, generative literature, and blockchain poetics at the intersection of text and technology. (The Art Forum)

MONETIZING POEMS

It took me a long time to consider myself a poet, but art is a bridge to new places. For me, word art first bridged my interest in creative public experiences and the world of poetry. Word art is a motley discipline of artists who are tied only by the idea that more words should be in more places—and it might not exist without longstanding pillar Jenny Holzer, who has spent decades making public installations in forms ranging from lights projections to bronze cast plaques to LED towers. Her important recent work “It Is Guns” truncates excerpts of statistics, personal stories and statements into poetically eerie echoes of gun violence’s impact on society. (The Cut)

THINGS THAT MOVE US

Having spent so long as a strategist I recognize the urge to always have a smart, intellectual answer to the question “but what does it *mean*??” So I get it—many people don’t relate to poetry because it’s a world that actively rejects clear and tangible insights. So as context for my share of the poem 'Introduction To Poetry' below I’ll link to a conversation with songwriter Leonard Cohen, who famously read a whole poem in an interview and then when asked “What does the poem mean?” paused to consider the question for a long moment…and then read the entire poem again. (YouTube)

Looking for more from Kyle? Coming Friday, look for an interview from him in your inbox!

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Don’t tell anyone but I became the #1 globally ranked cavalry rider in the WW1-themed and now several years out-of-date Call Of Duty competitor Battlefield 1. Seth Godin always says “whatever you do be the very best in the world at it” and I assume he was thinking about marketing creative directors and not first-person-shooter video game players but hey I’m proud of myself anyway.

:: City :: Mexico City

:: Book :: Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino. A series of beautiful short stories about the various natures of humanity in the guise of Marco Polo describing his adventures to Kublai Khan. Wonderfully imaginative, extremely poetic.

:: Podcast :: Having A Coke With You: behind-the-veil conversations with amazing poets!

:: Song :: Longest-standing answer to this question has been “Video Killed The Radio Star.” I have a longstanding Spotify playlist of all of its many covers that I have ranked with deep consideration.

:: INTRO TO POETRY ::

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

“Introduction To Poetry,” Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

Kyle Studstill, aka MR. WORDS of The Poetry Brothel
Instagram | LinkedIn

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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

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