The Poetry Store
want to give your guests an experience they won’t soon forget? a wedding keepsake unlike any other? an interactive experience that guests literally take home?
then you need me, silvi, the poetry store poet, and my red royal typewriter to write custom poems, on-the-spot, for you and your guests!
17 years experience. over 100k poems written. over 10k hours logged. at 1000's of events.
how does it work?
find me stationed at my vintage desk and red royal typewriter. choose from a beautiful/fun/funky/charming selection of 3×5 papers matched to your wedding's colors and themes. i ask a question like, “what lives in the landscape of your astonishment?” we chat as i type, then i hand you a one-of-a-kind poem, held in a charming hand stamped envelope or small glass amber bottles and organza bag.
what does your service provide?
i provide: unlimited poems for all guests. plus, i bring a charming vintage set up—desk, chair, typewriter, rug, side table, hand stamped envelopes, custom paper, amber bottles and organza bags, small table lamp, wholehearted listening, and a one-of-a-kind experience.
you provide: awesome guests, a vegetarian meal, and enough light to see what i’m typing.
how long does it take?
in just as much time as it takes to enter a photo booth, snap and print a few pics, i write a completely custom and unique-to-your-guest poem. typically about 3 minutes for each poem. just depends on how chatty people are.
how many hours do we book you?
wedding packages are 5 hours (the average duration or a wedding). 17 years experience has shown me this ensures all guests who want a poem get one.
how many poems can you write?
on average, 15-20+ poems an hour which serves 15-30 people (couples and families tend to get poems together).
what if you don’t get to everyone?
in all my years, for events as intimate as a dinner table gathering and as large as a 1500 person conference, clients have always been quite satisfied with the reach of what i do. you’ll see how excited guests are to walk around the room sharing poems with each other.
plus, for every event, you get a stack of prewritten poems to hand out to any guest who didn’t get a custom poem or who was just enjoying themselves too much to wait in line.
what kinds of events do you typically work?
to date, i've worked in places as small as someone's living room, as intimate as a funeral, and as recognizable as google, and quite a few that have required me to sign NDA's. of course, many many many weddings too.
what if i want a really special poem to honor the occasion?
upgrade from the basic wedding package and we’ll spend some time getting to know one another so i can create an 8×10 framed custom poem just for you and your boo. this custom wedding keepsake can be displayed at the wedding or even worked into your vows!
can you work a rehearsal dinner?
yes! rehearsal dinners are a great time to offer your guests my service, especially if you feel the wedding has a lot already going on.
do you offer other poetry related services?
yes! if an on-demand poet at your wedding isn't your thing, i also create custom poetry gifts and décor, all with a charming vintage appeal. or, i can write your poetic vows. contact me for pricing.
could you be our officiant?
yes! i would be honored to be your not-so-typical officiant! my aim in this role is to create a poetic ceremony that reflects your personality, connection, and community. i spend time getting to know you, and gathering information from your guests. then, i write a poem to be read as the framework for your ceremony. this service turns the typical and expected into the unique and poetic. and it’s completely tailored to and for you. contact me for pricing.
note: this service works well in combination a religious or denominational person actually marrying you and with me being emcee of the ceremony.
How I cater to offbeat weddings
my poetry lives in the moment two strangers meet over my red royal typewriter–the anonymity an invitation to speak, the typewriter keys a willing listener. the sound of poems being tapped onto paper brings people in, offers a sort of nostalgia even if the typewriter was ahead of your time. curiosity is piqued. creativity is invited to join. the typewriter does not discriminate audience. everyone and anyone is welcome. and all people come. see especially those in need of being seen, heard, connected in being human. the most common poems i write are, not too surprisingly, about love and loss. but the particulars may be surprising. re: love for ourselves, the kind that’s perhaps hardest to give and receive. and love for pets! re: loss, for babies before they were full term and the mothers who too silently grieve. the experience i offer is the poetry of connection–to a stranger, to themselves, to art, to being seen.
my favorite love to celebrate is the kind that understands love is love is love is love. to wed my work to the day you wed your heart to your love is indeed a great honor. and great fun! poems, after all, are the perfect form for presence, for seriousness or silliness, for celebration and joy. it’s a memory you can literally hold in hand for years to come. (and people do!)
it’s important to me that you and your guests feel supported in being in the full expression of who and how you are on the spectrum of LQBTQI, gender, neurodivergence, and just being you in all your you-ness. in our time together, and with my typewriter, i listen wholeheartedly, and do not judge.
in graduate school, a professor once said “look for the underdog and that’s where you’ll find silvi” by which he meant i’m dedicated to connection, especially to those who don’t often get connected to. in my own artsy magical misfit life, my besties are and have always been the artsy misfit queers and gender free people unafraid to be in truth and joy. in fact i–a highly sensitive, feels everything, late in life diagnosed CPTSD and neurodivergent, ecuadorian child of immigrants with two dead parents and enough surviving to thriving stories to power a never ending telenovela–often feel i fit best with the misfits. i prefer it, tbh.
i’m a maker of tiny moments of magic i’m lucky enough translate into a paycheck. i’ve lived in san francisco for 17 years and i carry the wonder of a small town girl still finding her way through a small big city life. i am a lover of redwoods, ocean winds, good conversation over martinis served extra dirty. i’ve lived a life that’s experienced great loss and isn’t afraid to talk about death at parties because i know well the darkness is where our light lives. i’m unafraid of opinions and passion that makes fires in my eyes and mouth and overly expressive hands. when i’m not writing poems, or showing poetry art, you can find me hiking, cooking vegetarian meals for friends, motown monday dancing, or volunteering at the bunny shelter. my life and my work desires to know more life, more growth, more of my own worth and place in this strange, beautiful world.
it’s a gift to do this thing i do. to live a life on the currency of connection and trust.
book 9 months in advance or more and receive a 5% early bird booking discount!
book my custom poem service AND officiant services to receive 35% off both!
Examples of my work
Rates
$$$$ upscale
$$$$$ luxury
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