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SHARP TEETH
Chewing the fat with Toby Barlow
By JENNIFER CACICIO
del.ico.us
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Very rarely does a book take over my life in such a way that everything else—meals, sleep, cocktails—seem to get in the way of my reading it. Even more rare is the case when said book is an epic poem. I mean, I liked The Odyssey, but I'm pretty sure I never skipped breakfast over it. In short, Sharp Teeth, the first book from advertising exec/author Toby Barlow, is an epic poem about werewolves, but in actuality it's a literary noir thriller written in free verse that's packed full of downright dazzling language. Mr. Barlow was kind enough to answer some questions via email.
Do you feel differently toward dogs now? I do.
When I was about halfway through the book I started looking at dogs differently. Or rather, I began to feel like they were looking at me differently. That was more than a little disconcerting.
So you're in advertising. What's your response to the critique that this book is something of a gimmick?
I have come across that critique here and there and every time I see it I think, you know, if you came to me and asked my advice—as an ad man—on how to write a blockbuster best seller, I probably wouldn't recommend using a format that went out of style a thousand years before the birth of Christ. It really isn't all that savvy a move.
So then why bother?
I chose the style because it was exciting to write, like I was running and leaping around inside some strange, dark graphic novel. It definitely opened up doors for me; you can do stuff with verse that you can't do with prose. People are more forgiving because it's that "crazy poetry thing," whereas in prose you have to methodically inch your way everywhere you go.
Do you think epic poetry is making a comeback?
I hope some form of the written word makes a comeback. Books are trying to fight for attention against other books, when in fact books are battling all media: It's Sharp Teeth vs. Sex in the City vs. 30 Rock vs. Halo 3, and honestly, right now, books are losing. So I would hope people would keep trying to innovate and play with the language and just keep it engaging. In the end, I think books provide a deeper reward than all those other media, but maybe we have to make it a bit more fun.
The book will soon be another media. How do you feel about selling the film rights?
Well, this is the first poem about pets to be optioned since T.S. Eliot's widow sold the rights to Cats, so that's sort of exciting. I'm not sure it's filmable, but I've sort of washed my hands of it. I dreamt the book already—it's someone else's demon to dream now.
Does that mean you're not quitting your day job?
If a billion people went crazy for werewolf epic poetry, I would quit my job and go all J.D. Salinger. But that doesn't appear to be happening. Maybe when they make it into a Broadway musical.
TOBY BARLOW
THURSDAY 6.26.08
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