Pulitzer-winning poet Vijay Seshadri fuses the fantastic with the everyday

Poet Vijay Seshadri finds inspiration all around him.

The Bangalore-native, Brooklyn-based poet assiduously collects the details of his life, his world, his ruminations big and small, in the hope that once amassed and ordered they’ll connect with readers.

And as a native of India, Seshadri (pronounced shay-SHAD-dree) says he’s drawn to the big picture.

“I think if you’re an immigrant you’re sort of on the fringe of society. You see society as a whole, you see panoramas,” he said. “You might not have any place in any particular aspect of the society you’re in, but you can embrace all of it.”

Seshadri was named this year’s winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his collection, “3 Sections.” Many of the works from that book have appeared in the New Yorker magazine over the years, where he served as a copy editor.

Despite talk of a decline in people reading, writing and reciting poetry, Seshadri sees it quite differently. Watch this piece to hear him discuss that, as well his life and poetry with NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Brown.