Burnham, Already a Comic and Musician, is Now a Poet

Add poet to the resume of Hamilton-native Bo Burnham, who first made it big as a comedian after his YouTube videos took off six years ago.

Earlier this month Burnham released his first book of poetry “Egghead: or, You Can’t Survive on Ideas Alone.”

Burnham, 23, is a St. John’s Prep graduate. He has been touring as a comedian for several years and last year was the star of his own “mockumentary” on HBO, “Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous,” which was canceled earlier this year. He is about to release his third comedy album.

In a recent radio interview on Radio Boston on WBUR, Burnham said he grew up reading Shel Silverstein and John Lennon’s books.

“I’ve always had an affection for wordy, ‘rhymey’ poetry accompanied by silly drawings,” he said.

He read a few of the “clean ones” during his 13 minute radio interview, including “Light Up,” “Clowns,” and “Ashley.”

He said that the poems came to him as a “palate cleaners” while writing “Zach Stone.”

During the radio interview, Burnham said he did not grow up in the “rich area” of Hamilton but said: “I have absolute zero complaints about my childhood.”

Burnham also sings songs as part of his performances, and he now sees those songs as “emotionally, thematically, comically informing the jokes.”