Rattlecast #67 features RENT Poet founder Brian Sonia-Wallace and his new book, The Poetry of Strangers.

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

For more information, visit:

https://rentpoet.com/

As always, we'll also include live open mic for responses to our weekly prompt. For details on how to participate, either via Skype or by phone, go to: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/

This Week's Prompt:

Write a poem that focuses on opposites or contradictions—a noisy library, a sunny night, a tragic comedy, etc. (Write your whole poem about one or sprinkle many throughout.)

Next Week's Prompt:

Randomstreetview.com is a site that randomly generates photographs of streets all over the world. Find a photo that speaks to you and write a poem about it.

The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Periscope, then becomes an audio podcast.