How Short Order Poems Began:
Short Order Poetry began with the seed of an idea planted in 2014 by an LA Times article my sister Nancy sent me about an artist composing poems on her manual typewriter at the local farmers markets.
It took a year to find a manual typewriter - a 50 pound Underwood - thanks to Carol Yotsuda of the Garden Island Arts Council.
The following year Mary Nakamura found the Remington 5 at a garage sale. She rallied four other friends to pitch in to buy it for my birthday from Nazira, an Italian artist. When Nazira and I finally met, she told me the story of Reva, the UCLA professor who typed her thesis on the Remington 5, and when she died at 100 years-old, Nazira received it.
I began doing this on a lark. It sounded like a fun creative challenge. At first I just brought scrap paper to type on. It was on Kealia Beach with girls and dogs where we conceived of the diner theme. My 20 years in restaurants lent itself naturally.
Seated on the wood bench in the alley at Kiko Simple Goods I wait for people to approach me to request a poem. Sometimes a line forms and I am there pounding away on the keys for three hours non-stop. I don't know where the words come from and I try not to over-think the images that fling themselves into my brain when my poetry customer stands before me.
There are two rules to the poem making:
1. No backstory. Just give me the word or phrase and resist explaining anything.
2. Read the poem back to me aloud. This is the best part for me - hearing your voice read my words.
On a final note for the curious: I have a Bachelor's in Journalism from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. My MFA in Poetry is from Antioch University in Culver City. I grew up in San Diego and have three sisters and a brother.
My husband and I moved to Kauai in 2001. We have a small country of animals and a universe of treasured friends.
It took a year to find a manual typewriter - a 50 pound Underwood - thanks to Carol Yotsuda of the Garden Island Arts Council.
The following year Mary Nakamura found the Remington 5 at a garage sale. She rallied four other friends to pitch in to buy it for my birthday from Nazira, an Italian artist. When Nazira and I finally met, she told me the story of Reva, the UCLA professor who typed her thesis on the Remington 5, and when she died at 100 years-old, Nazira received it.
I began doing this on a lark. It sounded like a fun creative challenge. At first I just brought scrap paper to type on. It was on Kealia Beach with girls and dogs where we conceived of the diner theme. My 20 years in restaurants lent itself naturally.
Seated on the wood bench in the alley at Kiko Simple Goods I wait for people to approach me to request a poem. Sometimes a line forms and I am there pounding away on the keys for three hours non-stop. I don't know where the words come from and I try not to over-think the images that fling themselves into my brain when my poetry customer stands before me.
There are two rules to the poem making:
1. No backstory. Just give me the word or phrase and resist explaining anything.
2. Read the poem back to me aloud. This is the best part for me - hearing your voice read my words.
On a final note for the curious: I have a Bachelor's in Journalism from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. My MFA in Poetry is from Antioch University in Culver City. I grew up in San Diego and have three sisters and a brother.
My husband and I moved to Kauai in 2001. We have a small country of animals and a universe of treasured friends.
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While on Kauai you can find poem overlays at Kiko Simple Goods in Kapaa. See samples in the Poetry Diner.
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