During this year’s Festival of Words, Brent Butt delivered a two-hour talk at the Mae Wilson Theatre starting at 8 p.m. on July 20.
Butt’s discussion opened with live comedy — including a consistent intermixture of his natural comedic talent throughout — and touched on his newest book, “Huge.” Following the presentation, he opened up the room for a brief question and answer feature.
Q: Who are some of your favourite authors?
A: “I’m a big fan of Linwood Barclay. He’s great at creating suspense and read,” Butt said. “But more so than most thriller writers; he has an ability to combine dread with… tearing through the pages. He’s one of those writers who really pulls me along.”
Butt also mentioned Steven King as an inspiration. “Because he’s so popular… people start to poopoo what he does… I think, as a writer… he’s underrated,” he said. “It’s hard to say a guy like that is underrated, because he’s, you know, (almost a) billionaire…
“Steven King, more than anybody else that I’ve read, has the ability to just make me think about that damn story all day long.”
He also mentioned UK-based author Belinda Bauer. “She writes thrillers,” he began. “They usually have a bit of a creepy bend, a creepy angle through them.”
Q: Do you regret ending (Corner Gas) so soon?
A: “I think ending (the show) when we did was… the right thing to do,” Butt said in his reply. “When I felt like the show wanted to wrap up… I would heed that, because it was too special to me to let it wither and die on the vine. I didn’t want to be that show that was like, ‘Why is this thing still on the air?’
“You know, I’ve been to house parties where they handed me my coat — it’s not a good feeling!”
Q: How can I become even funnier than I am now?
A: “Once you know the rules (of comedy), it’s the best time to break them. Breaking the rules before you know them — probably unproductive.
“Like anything,” he continued, “(it’s just about) doing it lots and studying.
“I first saw stand-up when I was 12. I didn’t even know it existed before that,” he said. “I became obsessed with it and watched everything I could.
The one caveat, he warned, was “the more you… try to be funnier… (the more you will be) incredibly annoying to the people around you.”
Q: What did your family think of you entering the field of comedy (as a career choice)?
A: Butt said he felt blessed to grow up in his family, who he described as creative and close.
“My parents were like two of the funniest people… and were generally the happiest (most) well-balanced people I’ve ever known,” he said. “For them, that notion of happiness (had) no equation to money, status, or anything. It was really like, ‘Find what blows your hair back.’”
And, when asked in a final question whether the title of his book was intentional, Butt pointed to the library search term, “Huge, Butt,” and said, “it was definitely something we all talked about.”
To learn more about Butt and his new book, visit BrentButt.com.
