Pomes pounded out
October 1, 2021 10:29 AM Subscribe
Luke Davis waits for the muse to strike [16 mins] sitting on a lawn-chair in the sun on the South Bank in London: paper loaded in a Brother de Luxe manual typewriter, ready for someone, anyone, to ask for a poem on a pay-what-you-will contract.
hey i do that, with my group the Typewriter Rodeo. i've done a lot of different kinds of writing in my life but that's by far the most rewarding and fun.
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 10:42 AM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 10:42 AM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
With pen and paper, I did this for years in bars for drinks.
I gave it up when I realized I was getting much worse at it as time went on.
posted by dobbs at 11:01 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I gave it up when I realized I was getting much worse at it as time went on.
posted by dobbs at 11:01 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I have a couple old manual typewriters, a love of poetry, and more free time than most. Alas, there ain't a whole lot of pedestrian thoroughfares around here, so I'd maybe have to set up in my front yard. That could be cool, I reckon.
And now it's October! I could ruin every child's Halloween by giving them poems instead of candy!
Wait, no. I can't type that fast- there are zillions of trick-or-treaters on my block.
Are lazy fucks like me why nobody reads poetry any more?
P.S. I will always love Kerouac for making "pomes" as acceptable, to me at least, as "poems." My old man, whose Southern accent is as ghostly as my Texan one is these days, still pokes fun at me for saying pomes. Fuck that, pomes rule.
Write pomes. Or poems. Or both. Just put some word-goodness out there.
posted by heteronym at 11:34 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
And now it's October! I could ruin every child's Halloween by giving them poems instead of candy!
Wait, no. I can't type that fast- there are zillions of trick-or-treaters on my block.
Are lazy fucks like me why nobody reads poetry any more?
P.S. I will always love Kerouac for making "pomes" as acceptable, to me at least, as "poems." My old man, whose Southern accent is as ghostly as my Texan one is these days, still pokes fun at me for saying pomes. Fuck that, pomes rule.
Write pomes. Or poems. Or both. Just put some word-goodness out there.
posted by heteronym at 11:34 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
This would be my dream job except I'm sitting here trying to think about what I could pop off the top of my dome that would people would actually want; if I could actually do this for the same amount of money I get now I would actually try and maybe succeed at connecting them with something they could use like someone else's poem or bit of ancient wisdom.
posted by bleep at 11:47 AM on October 1, 2021
posted by bleep at 11:47 AM on October 1, 2021
I ran into a guy in Haight-Asbury with a typewriter on a table who charged ten bucks for a poem.
I gave him a few facts about my circumstances (I was a chaperone on a high school trip), and it was a pretty good poem. All those typically beat lower-case letters, a little decent imagery, bereft of too much literary cleverness...all in all, worth ten bucks. Not twenty, and five would have been insulting.
posted by kozad at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I gave him a few facts about my circumstances (I was a chaperone on a high school trip), and it was a pretty good poem. All those typically beat lower-case letters, a little decent imagery, bereft of too much literary cleverness...all in all, worth ten bucks. Not twenty, and five would have been insulting.
posted by kozad at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
In the Typewriter Rodeo we never charge for individual poems -- they're always free to recipients. To me, that's part of what makes it even possible to do. Under the circumstances in which these poems are created, disengaging the internal editor is completely essential. (We tend to be a lot busier than the dude in the OP.) If we were charging some certain amount we'd feel a pressure to make them good enough that would be entirely self-defeating. Giving the poems away is an element of the magic.
That said, unless we're contributing our services to a charity or non-profit fundraiser or the like (which we often do), we will either put out a tip jar (tips always optional) or else get paid by the event organizer. I suppose our business model is different than your typical typewriter poet on the street -- we tend to get hired to work at events, as a sort of attraction I guess. Weddings, conferences, company parties, school events, literary festivals and such pay the bills -- not that any of us make a full living at it, but it's a nice supplement, or was pre-COVID. We're just starting to get back into doing events again.
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 2:27 PM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
That said, unless we're contributing our services to a charity or non-profit fundraiser or the like (which we often do), we will either put out a tip jar (tips always optional) or else get paid by the event organizer. I suppose our business model is different than your typical typewriter poet on the street -- we tend to get hired to work at events, as a sort of attraction I guess. Weddings, conferences, company parties, school events, literary festivals and such pay the bills -- not that any of us make a full living at it, but it's a nice supplement, or was pre-COVID. We're just starting to get back into doing events again.
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 2:27 PM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
except I'm sitting here trying to think about what I could pop off the top of my dome that would people would actually want
You're not realizing the concept of "buy-in". In this case, it is extremely literal. Someone has decided to hand you money for a poem. They've already bought in to the idea that they are buying a poem.
Have 2-3 (or more) minutes of conversation with them, retreat for 10 minutes to think about things and outline a bit, and then whatever you create, unless being deliberately (or maybe accidentally) insulting will be treasured.
Because they decided to buy a poem.
Note: this is not the bargain for poets who write first and then try to get payment later. That is a "what would people actually want" proposition.
posted by hippybear at 4:55 PM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
You're not realizing the concept of "buy-in". In this case, it is extremely literal. Someone has decided to hand you money for a poem. They've already bought in to the idea that they are buying a poem.
Have 2-3 (or more) minutes of conversation with them, retreat for 10 minutes to think about things and outline a bit, and then whatever you create, unless being deliberately (or maybe accidentally) insulting will be treasured.
Because they decided to buy a poem.
Note: this is not the bargain for poets who write first and then try to get payment later. That is a "what would people actually want" proposition.
posted by hippybear at 4:55 PM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
medlar awkward
posted by away for regrooving at 11:53 PM on October 1, 2021
posted by away for regrooving at 11:53 PM on October 1, 2021
→
How do you feel about poyums?
posted by scruss at 9:26 AM on October 2, 2021
Write pomes. Or poems. Or both
How do you feel about poyums?
posted by scruss at 9:26 AM on October 2, 2021
Brooklyn letters for strangers
North Carolina
Philly
Busking
posted by Ideefixe at 3:08 PM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
North Carolina
Philly
Busking
posted by Ideefixe at 3:08 PM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Well it is cider season...
posted by jedicus at 10:32 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]