Generally, I will take another sip of water (but it’s really vodka) and make deep eye contact with whomever I’m speaking to, whether it’s the niece Lily or the Prime Minister of Britain.
— from “When I am President of the United States”
I remember the day that Kurt Cobain died, sitting on my neighbor’s couch, crying to the Kurt Loder MTV News report. I remember telling my dad that I was done with Viola and ready to grab a guitar and rule the world. I wanted to be Kurt Cobain. And when I plugged in my guitar, I was Kurt Cobain.
Well, when I read When I Am a Famous Person, from Joseph Haegar, I want to be this character. I want to step inside the mind of the man who is best friends with Garth Brooks, allowed to pick roles in Adam Sandler movies, and is the reincarnation of Kurt Cobain.
But, here’s the thing, I feel like this is a tale of choose-your-own-adventure emotions. You can either take it all as a facade for not wanting to be himself, for hiding behind the characters, for avoiding anything serious. Or, you can say, “Fuck it!” and get really into the idea of becoming President, being a father figure to Percy Jackson, and “kill sincerity / and… entertain. / Every day of my life.”
Purchase your copy of When I am a Famous Person from Optography Press