Making sense of the current political climate, meet the writer using humour to show the softer side of the two most powerful men in the world.

By Sophia Charalambous

Rob Sears and I are discussing the potential impact of his two books, The Beautiful Poetry Of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin: Life Coach, on humanity.

“I’d hate to think that anybody is going to ascend power based on this book,” Rob laughs, but with a tinge of apprehension.

“It is very difficult to seize control of a nation state. I’m fairly confident that these books are not the key.

“I was reading a new Trump quote in the news every morning, and people say he makes liberal heads explode, and I think it is true, and true of Putin too.

“Everything they do creates a reaction.

“These books are my tiny little way of putting my frustrations to use and humour is the best way of making sense of events beyond your control.”

The Beautiful Poetry Of Donald Trump was Rob’s first book, published last year.

It is made up entirely of the Donald Trump's own words from tweets, speeches and interviews.

From limericks to haikus, free verse and narratives, the realm of poetry has been well explored in this anthology.

The cover shows Donald Trump’s face superimposed on Welsh poet Dylan Thomas – which the Thomas estate agreed that Rob could use.

Talking of the two books, Rob says: “They both didn’t take that long.”

“Trump was more laborious even though it is a lot less words; the only way to write those poems was through trial and error.”

He adds: “I quite like I Am The Best, which has the lines: ‘I build buildings that are 94 storeys tall/My hands aren’t – are they small'.

“I think this is the first one I wrote and it was the one that showed the project was going to be possible. Trump was legally trickier – lawyers had to comb through every quote to make sure it was real.”

So far there has been zero backlash from the release of the books.

Rob says: “I think it’s because, if you were a real Trump or Putin fan, I’m not sure what you’d find to object to.

“They really are Trump’s words and although I do take them out of context, it’s usually in a completely surreal way.

“And Putin, I don’t think anyone would deny he is a very strategic person.

“He spent 15 years or so as a spy so, again, if people admire him, they’ll probably read the book nodding along. He has a lot of cunning strategies to get what he wants.”

Vladimir Putin: Life Coach was released in 2018 turning the life of the Russian president into a self-help book.

 

There is a relaxed, Californian stock model image on the cover superimposed with Putin’s head.

The book includes a collection of illustrations by Tom Sears, with life lessons and stories from Putin’s personal life and time in power.

 

Rob took part in our inaugural Mayfair & St James's Literary Festival in autumn 2018, holding an evening to discuss his books.