Poetry on Demand

with The Walking Mall Poet

Celebrate National Poetry Month with a free personalized poem written on a typewriter by The Walking Mall Poet and try your own hand at typewriter poetry.

You don't have to visit the tortured poets department to get some custom verse. Stop by the Southwest Neighborhood Library between 12:00pm and 3:00pm on Saturday, April 20 for a personalized typewritten poem written while you wait by The Walking Mall Poet. Try out typewriting for yourself and spend some time basking in the glow of words in celebration of National Poetry Month. Weather permitting, this event will take place immediately outside the Southwest Library and will move indoors in the event of inclement weather.

If what you seek is a poem,
that speaks to your heart alone,
simply visit Southwest
and meet our poet guest
to request one that feels like home.

This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Southwest Neighborhood Library.

About the Poet

Joe Jablonski, known as The Walking Mall Poet, is the typewriting street poet of Old Town Winchester. Using one of thirty typewriters in his collection, Joseph sets up in the Winchester, VA Walking Mall and produces on-the-spot poetry by request for strangers, friends and passerbys.

Joseph’s poetry often revolves around the themes of infinity and eternity, often seizing on the idealism of the beautiful moments in our lives and striving to make even the smallest of requests shine like the sun. He often writes with slant rhyme, inspired by spoken word and rap rhyme structures, with poems usually flowing across the page in free verse. His poetry conveys concepts of sacrifice, salvation and love into everyday themes and language. His poetry is also a practice in hyper-empathy, using the moment to try to place himself as fully as possible in another & answer, in each request “What does this person need in a poem?” When not writing, Joseph can be found doing DIY repairs to his collection of typewriter machines.

You can find him on Instagram (@walkingmallpoet), Facebook (Walking Mall Poet), Twitch (www.twitch.tv/walkingmallpoet), and YouTube (Walking Mall Poet).

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