Episode 557: The Spirit of St. Louis

**Brace** (0:12)
There we go. I'll just, I'll fill in the rest.
Hello.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (0:19)
Hello.

**Brace** (0:20)
This is not going to work if you're going to be like that.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (0:22)
All right, I'm sorry. Hello.

**Brace** (0:25)
Say it back.
Welcome to the first, and I'm going to be real with you guys, because of extenuating circumstances, literally probably the only in its existence live True Anon episode. I'm Brace, that's Devin, and we are here to talk about your new book, which we'll get to in a moment. Because first, I want, actually, would you read? No, I'll do it because I don't want to pass the computer. No, Michelle, stay back there. I'm going to have you come out in a second. You do this. You have to humiliate yourself. Read this.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (1:07)
All right. I'm being hazed.

**Brace** (1:08)
A selection from Thomas Moore's poem, The Veiled Prophet.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (1:13)
Oh, boy.

**Brace** (1:14)
I put in a little too much, which is why I didn't want to read it, and why I'm making you do it.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (1:19)
Yeah. It's pretty good here. I hope you like rhyming couplets.
But why this pageant now, this armed array? What triumph crowds the rich divan today? This divan and this divan. With turbaned heads of every hue and race, bowed before that veiled and awful face.
Like tulip beds of different shape and dyes, bending beneath the invisible west wind's size. What new made mystery now for faith to sign and blood to seal as genuine and divine? What dazzling mimicry of God's own power hath the bold prophet planned to grace this hour? Not such a pageant now, though not less proud, young warrior youth advancing from the crowd. Which would be a cue for like an assassination, which I would highly discourage.
With silver bow, with belt of broidered crepe, and fur bonnet of butchery in shape. So fiercely beautiful in form and eye, like war's wild planet in a summer sky. That youth today, a proselyte worth hordes, or cooler spirits and less practiced swords, is come to join all bravery and brief, the creed and standard of the heaven sent chief.

**Brace** (3:05)
Give him a round of applause.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (3:07)
That was a long one. It goes on like that for, like, this book is a long book of poetry that the real private guys are based on.

**Brace** (3:16)
But it came out a while ago, right? It's Thomas More's orientalist poetry book, Lala Rook.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (3:20)
Yeah, so like, in the 1800s, like literally like 1803 or something like that, Thomas More was hanging out with Lord Byron and he was like, you got to try this orientalism shit.
Because like you can be critical of the king or the church, and you can just be like, I don't want to be a knight, I want to be a sultan, and I want to have a harem, and the church won't let me have a harem. So, and there's a lot of like opium smoking and like indulging. There's a whole Edward Said thing I'm sure many have heard of, just like the West projecting itself into the Orient and being like, that's where I can go and do all the stuff I want to do.

**Brace** (4:07)
Well, I'd like to have Michelle from Haymarket come out here and read another passage that I picked out.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (4:14)
Okay, more poetry or?

**Brace** (4:16)
It's, I found it to be good to read and then hopefully listen to. I don't know if it technically qualifies as poetry, but come over here and please pick up this microphone. Would you just read what I have in bold right there?

**SPEAKER_3** (4:30)
Sure. When I was 19 years old, I decided to participate in a debutante ball in my hometown.
The century-old organization that hosted the debutante ball had an unquestionably racist, sexist, and elitist past. I was not aware of this history at the time, but ignorance is no excuse. I was old enough to have educated myself before getting involved. I unequivocally deplore, denounce, and reject white supremacy. At the same time, I acknowledge that because of my race and my privilege, I am the beneficiary of a system that has dispensed unequal justice and unequal rewards.

**Brace** (5:22)
Thank you very much.

**SPEAKER_3** (5:23)
You're so welcome.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (5:24)
Let's get a round of applause.

**Brace** (5:25)
Round of applause, come on.

**Devin Thomas O'Shea** (5:28)
Beautiful.

**Brace** (5:30)
So that was not from a Orientalist poetry book, but that was actually the 2021 apology from Ellie Kemper for participating in the Veiled Prophet, for being the Veiled Prophet, the Queen.