How do you get inspired?

I read a lot of books to get inspired. I used to get inspired by listening to music, but I rarely do that anymore. I find that just reading new authors for some reason gets my mind into a mode of thinking differently about things. It’s a way to find new ideas. It really helps.

Do books give you song ideas?

It’s not like I read a book and the subject makes me want to write about that subject. I just finished reading Canada by Richard Ford, and it’s not like it made me want to write a song about robbing a bank. But when I read a lot of more challenging stuff, I always write more. It keeps my brain more active.

Do you have any favorite authors or genres?

I’m pretty unfocused. I do read a lot of poetry. Recently I’ve been reading Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Graves. W.H. Auden has always been one of my favorites.

Do you think about the musicality of the words in the poems as you read?

Definitely. Some poets you can just read and not even pay attention to the what they’re saying because the words are so beautiful. There’s such a rhythm. It’s just one long sound.

Sangskriver Hamilton Leithauser i et interview