I used to read music magazines—Downbeat, Metronome…. I was once reading an interview with the drummer Gene Krupa and he was asked, “You keep time for the band. How do you keep time?” He said, “I have a little chant, and it goes like this: “Lyonnaise potatoes and some pork chops, Lyonnaise potatoes and some pork chops.” So the first year I was working on a newspaper I’d be sitting in the corner going, “Lyonnaise potatoes and some pork chops” to make sure I had some kind of rhythm in the sentences. You can learn for one form of expression from another. You can listen to music and say, “There’s a way I can make this happen with language, with words.” 

PETE HAMILL