The Traveling Typist: Kroetry

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Wasn’t it Saussure who said something about the sign, signifier and the signified? I’m sure there is something very phil...
04/01/2026

Wasn’t it Saussure who said something about the sign, signifier and the signified? I’m sure there is something very philosophical to be said about if the sign of the thing truly contains the thing itself. Either way, I spend a lot of time mentally flipping off philosophers, largely because I do not understand them and I make no effort to apply metaphysics to my daily life.

Anyway, happy Monday 🖕🖕🖕

Writing poems is always a little better with company!I have an inherent distrust of old white men with beards (looking a...
03/24/2026

Writing poems is always a little better with company!

I have an inherent distrust of old white men with beards (looking at you, Santa), but this one is just a statue so I think he gets a pass.

It’s almost National Poetry Month—what are you doing to celebrate? I’m going to try (and probably fail) to write a new short poem every day, and post it to my instagram stories. Maybe you feel like following along, or even joining me on the journey.

No new poems until after this weekend though—it’s my anniversary, and as a polyamorous deviant I have to take extra care to keep on top of my anniversaries.

Stay poetic out there!

Since time immemorial, humans have been putting their hand prints onto cave walls. Consider this my addition to our fing...
03/18/2026

Since time immemorial, humans have been putting their hand prints onto cave walls. Consider this my addition to our fingerpainting legacy.

it has been a very long time since I have given myself the simple permission to play with my art. I have been so caught up in the logistics of living and running a business that I have not had much time to just mess around on the Typewriter.

when the stakes are low, and the imagination is high, some interesting things may result. So this is your sign to mess around a little bit. Give yourself permission to play today, even if it’s just for 20 minutes.

Wasn’t it Saussure who said something about the sign, signifier and the signified? I’m sure there is something very phil...
03/16/2026

Wasn’t it Saussure who said something about the sign, signifier and the signified? I’m sure there is something very philosophical to be said about if the sign of the thing truly contains the thing itself. Either way, I spend a lot of time mentally flipping off philosophers, largely because I do not understand them and I make no effort to apply metaphysics to my daily life.

All high-falootin’ philosophical babbling aside—what can I say? A love a poem in the shape of a thing! And while normally I might consider shape-poems cutesy or a little bit gauche (especially if approached without any quirk, twist, or innovative spirit) this is different. Because this is a TYPEWRITER poem in the shape of something and let me tell you, getting everything spaced correctly was ANNOYING and TIME CONSUMING and also intriguing and took a fair degree of technical precision.

Anyway, happy Monday 🖕🖕🖕

Pearlescent, effervescent, more mysterious than the moon’s waning crescent. I hope March is treating you all well, becau...
03/13/2026

Pearlescent, effervescent, more mysterious than the moon’s waning crescent.

I hope March is treating you all well, because I have to admit dear reader, I am TIRED. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to move 16 typewriters into a new house, solo? Not only that, but all of the ephemera of a literary life (read—my BOOKCASES) that I still have yet to move.

It’s pretty on brand that I moved my typewriters in before I moved anything else. But hey, at least I’m consistent!

Next week is Moving Week. Wish me luck, my fair friends. I really wanted to do a full tatami mat room in my bedroom and get some of those fancy Japanese bidets with the heated water jets and the seat warmers. But alas, I blew my budget on floor repairs.

My heated toilet seats will have to wait, forsooth! At least until the weather warms and I am once again poet-ing across the streets of Chicago.

Sing o! Goddess of the dive bar. Patron saint of sticky floors and free peanuts. Muse of the draft beer and the overpric...
03/10/2026

Sing o! Goddess of the dive bar. Patron saint of sticky floors and free peanuts. Muse of the draft beer and the overpriced cocktail. She who wanders in from the neon night and hustles men out of their twenties. May she bless us all with her cigarette smoke laden grace. May we all understand the blessing inherent.

The latest publications from Yours Truly. Included are stories from the Chicago Poetry Turf Wars (2022-2024), my March n...
03/10/2026

The latest publications from Yours Truly. Included are stories from the Chicago Poetry Turf Wars (2022-2024), my March newsletter marinating on creative constipation, and a meditation on the 6 paramitas written for my other project, .

I love giving the juicy inside scoop on drama in the poetry world, but only if you feel like going the extra mile 💅

I wrote this poem a couple weeks ago for a patron down at Fulton market. I have been thinking a lot about heartbreak and...
03/08/2026

I wrote this poem a couple weeks ago for a patron down at Fulton market. I have been thinking a lot about heartbreak and healing over the past few weeks. “Love” and “healing” are some of the most cliché topics to write poems about, but it is also one of the most universal human experiences. So is it any wonder the people asked for poems about it?

The heart is meant to break, but the heart is also meant to heal. Last year I was navigating my own heartbreak and coming to terms with my own healing. The journey looks different for everyone, but I am starting to learn to put gold into my cracks. And I hope that you are too.

When typewriting, always take the opportunity to appreciate a good ceiling. Personally, though, the most interesting thi...
03/03/2026

When typewriting, always take the opportunity to appreciate a good ceiling.

Personally, though, the most interesting thing about this photo isn’t the ceiling. See the fox fur that I’m wearing around my neck? I got that in a former life.

Before I was a typewriter poet, I was an Assistant Property Tower at a condo high rise. Over fifty floors, nearly two thousand residents, and a whole lot of stories.

The fox fur was given to me by a woman who used to be a millionaire in the 80s, but fell on hard times (the exact details of which were never disclosed to me, though I bet it’s one hell of a story). One day she just waltzed down to the office and asked me if I wanted the fox-fur-and-cashmere shawl.

Of course I said yes!

Now I wear it to my wintertime gigs when I’m feeling particularly opulent.

Have a little slice of spring time in the middle of this cold and dreary February. This poem was requested by someone wh...
02/23/2026

Have a little slice of spring time in the middle of this cold and dreary February. This poem was requested by someone who just visited the Lincoln Park Conservatory! Visit conservatory is near you, they are great. I would live in a conservatory if I could, just build a little fort in a giant greenhouse. Sounds like one hell of a way to live.

I’m appeared in front of a class of high school students. They were in the midst of their poetry unit and I was asked to...
02/22/2026

I’m appeared in front of a class of high school students. They were in the midst of their poetry unit and I was asked to pop in. I thought, sure! I’m a professional poet, and I can probably answer some questions about craft and such.

As it turns out, I had to answer some very frank questions about what it’s like to live a life in the arts. What kind of life do I lead? What kind of money do I make? Artists tend to be very shy about that question, but I answered them as honestly as I could. I told them, I make enough to afford a house where I get to live with my friends. I make enough to indulge in my whimsical artistic impulses a non-zero amount of the time. And I make enough to live the kind of life I want to lead. And I gave them the actual number of my yearly salary.

I told them, kids, if you want to live in a mansion by yourself, don’t go into the arts. But if you don’t mind living collaboratively and being inventive with your budget and your priorities—then the benefits of a creative life can make me actually happy to get up in the morning. And that’s worth more than a six figures to me.

Listen guys, just because your lady is low maintenance doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate the romantic gestures. Someti...
02/20/2026

Listen guys, just because your lady is low maintenance doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate the romantic gestures. Sometimes people don’t want diamonds or silk, they just wanna know that you put in thoughtful and considerate effort. She might forget what you got her for her birthday, but she will always remember how you made her feel on her birthday.

I write so many poems for wives who do it all, from husbands whose minds boggle at the insane juggling act these women carry. Sometimes, all she needs is to know you care, and are willing to step in and take on part of the mental load.

And of course, a poem always helps! 😘

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