This weekend was the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets Spring Conference. This year it took place in Milwaukee. Our organizer Ed Werstein did an excellent job of introducing the group to the Milwaukee poetry scene, which is exciting and diverse and vibrant.
During Friday evening's reception and Saturday's activities Subtle Forces duo Anja Notanja and Freesia McKee wrote custom poems on old-fashioned typewriters.
Typewriter poems are a thing. The duo and their typewriters have typed for frillions of real customers from the streets of Milwaukee to New Orleans.
Here are two examples:
I requested this poem for my husband Doug who celebrated his birthday this week. The poets have a "form" you complete that asks for your general info in addition to who you want to send the poem to. What kind of poem you'd like. (The choices are Love Letter, Poem, Insult Letter, Letter of Recommendation, Short Story, Letter from a Pet or Other.) You can add other info as desired, including the price you'd like to pay. You can even add a doodle for an extra charge.
La Prosette | Interpreted by Freesia McKee | Milwaukee, 2017
Here's another example from my table-mate at the conference.He asked for a "100 Days" poem.
La Prosette | Interpreted by Anja Notanja Sieger | Milwaukee, 2017
A fun experience. Freesia and Anja clacked away, infecting the conference with creativity! Later they both gave inspired readings as well!