Shareit’s been a while since last we wrote, largely due to the even crazier pace life has recently taken for me here in sf. it’s a good thing but i find increasingly that when not working and enjoying the warm glow of my computer, i’m generally working in the dark depths of one of sf’s many local theaters.
so, i thought it’d be appropriate (if not slightly ironic) to highlight a local caffeine fueled artist who can be seen by day, liberating himself from the traditional office grind by putting his old school type writer to use.
a weekend or so ago, i happened upon zach houston and had the pleasure of watching him in action – creating impromptu poems for fellow farmer’s market patrons.
though most saturday’s i generally opt for the alemany farmer’s market, i found myself doing errands around the ferry plaza and decided to pop over for a quick visit before my afternoon coffee date.
it was there – as i first crossed the street and passed the veggie valet booth – that i noticed zach and his sky blue, manual typewriter. his case transformed into a sign declaring the name of this inspirational venture: “The Poem Store.”
As Houston once explained, “The Poem Store was born out of a strange brew of intervention of everyday life. It was caffeine-situation inspired.”
my encounter with zach’s guerrilla art was one of the many things that made me happy i’d diverged from my general weekend routine.
he struck a chord that resonated with the life i’d lived as an “activ.art.ist.” some of you may know i’ve done a great deal of traveling, funding much of my journey as a migrant artist. i refused to put actual price tags on my work, but instead accepted only what people were willing and able to pay.
this idea of pay what you can worked well in funding my adventures and seems to likewise work for zach.
i walked up just as two women requested a poem on “teeth” but quickly agreed that “obama’s teeth” would be a far more interesting subject.
oh bay area… there’s so much about you that makes me love and laugh harder each day.
zach launched into the task at hand and created a witty collection of words on the fly – using his old school, manual typewriter.
Zach spotted at the Ferry Plaza
i observed him create few of his verbal sculptures in a flourish of keystrokes. then, he’d pause to read aloud his most recent creation before handing over the shipping label on which he’d typed it.
a crowd started to form a circle around Zach while i was there. some began to que up to put in their requests.
as one might expect here in the bay area, requests included a poem about Jizo - buddhist guardian of unborn children and travelers.
whatever the topic, Zach accepted the challenge.
our request was not a challenge for him at all. “care to write about caffeine?” we asked. he answered with a grin and within minutes wrote thus:
impressively written before my eyes
thanks, Zach. we raise our mugs to you and your artistic endeavors. cheers! c[_]
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