Typewriter Rodeo.
Connecting people through poetry.
Our History
In May 2013, four friends set up a table at an Austin Maker Faire. We called ourselves the “Word Makers” and planned to make stuff up on old typewriters. We never figured it would last more than a day.
But it did! From that small fair in Austin, we’ve been hired all over: the Smithsonian (they brought out their old typewriters for us!), Willie Nelson’s music festival, a beach in Cabo. We’ve taken the Rodeo from Maine to California, from Seattle to Orlando. And all points between!
Our approach is still the same as that first day: A stranger comes up and gives a topic, we give them a poem. And a moment of connection vastly different than any event swag.
Since our start, we’ve expanded to weekly NPR poems and have a few lovely books (scroll to the end for those!). From that group of four friends in Austin, we now have over a dozen poets – from Seattle to Boston – and growing.
The Rodeo POETSSure, lots of folks can plop behind a typewriter and type you a poem.
But you’ll be hard-pressed to find a team with more experience, poetic variety, and sparkly rainbow charm.
Jodi Egerton
BOSTON, CO-FOUNDER
Jodi holds a Ph.D. in English from UT Austin. With her husband Owen Egerton, Jodi co-wrote the creativity and writing craft book This Word Now. Jodi has spent her time away from the typewriter as the CEO of a creative agency, a childbirth doula, a goat-milker, and a classically trained clown. She is the hub of our Boston Rodeo, is a professor of comedy at Emerson College, and types on a 1970 Litton Imperial.
David Fruchter
AUSTIN, CO-FOUNDER
David is a freelance curriculum writer, musician, performance artist, and stay-at-home dad. He lives in Austin, Texas, with two dogs, two cats, and two ladies, and frequently daydreams of gardening.
Kari Anne Holt
AUSTIN, CO-FOUNDER
Kari is an author, mama, and terrible cook. As an author for adults, she has written HAIKU MAMA (Quirk, 2006), and periodically contributes to McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. (She is also reasonably infamous for her blog, haikuoftheday.com.) As a writer for children, Kari is the author of several middle grade novels in verse including BenBee, Redwood & Ponytail, Knockout, House Arrest, and Rhyme Schemer. She has also published several middle grade fantasy adventures and a picture book, I Wonder. More at: kaholt.com
Sean Petrie
AUSTIN, CO-FOUNDER
Sean is an award-winning poet, author, professor, and typewriter tinkerer. His kids books include the Jett Ryder series, Pet Poems (also not just pets) and its companion workbook, Pet Poems PLUS. His adult books include Cracked & Broken: Poems of Midlife, and the Seattle poetry collection Listen to the Trees. He has an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College and is a writing professor at the University of Texas School of Law. More at: seanpetrie.com
AUSTINSarah
Beach
Sarah has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her debut poetry chapbook, Impact, won the Sundress Publications’ 2022 Chapbook Contest. Originally from the swamps of Southeast Texas, she now lives in Austin with her husband and two objectively adorable dogs. When not writing or working at her day job as the Program Director at the Writer’s League of Texas, she can be found sprawled out on the floor of a bookstore, submerged in a spring, or strolling around aimlessly with her pups. She types on a 1950s Smith Corona named Greta. More at sarahreneebeach.com
AUSTINRebecca Bendheim
Rebecca is a writer, middle school teacher, and occasional unicyclist with an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her 2023 poetry collection, Coming Out Party, debuted as the #1 New LGBTQ+ Poetry book on Amazon. She has performed poetry at Lambda Litfest and Youth Speaks’ Queeriosity showcase and types on a purple 1930s Remington No. 3. More at rebeccabendheim.com
AUSTINLaCole
Foots
LaCole loves to learn about the world and uses her poetry to sift through some of the biggest questions we all face and dreams we all share. Her latest book, the poetry memoir Heavy Light, documents a three-year journey of what it means to come into your own. Her anthology Durance is a collection of coping with grief, navigating relationships, and finding oneself in the process. She is continuing to explore these big questions through her current projects. She has an analytical background with an MPA from Carnegie Mellon University, and when not writing poetry, she’s storytelling through data as a data strategist at her analytics firm, Jodon Maclem. She types on a 1930s green Remington Portable No. 3. More at lacolefoots.com
AUSTINLiz Garton Scanlon
Liz is an award-winning children’s author and poet, with more books than we could list here! She also teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and when not writing, teaching, and reading, can be found in the outdoors with her husband and daughters. Liz types on a 1930s green Remington Portable No. 3. More at lizgartonscanlon.com
AUSTINShanna Gerlach
Shanna didn’t spend her formative toddler years in preschool like most kids; instead she was at her family’s kitchen table, splattered with paint and glue. Though Shanna doesn’t remember exactly what she created, she does remember how: with abandon, confidence, curiosity, and boundless ambition. Shanna brings that same wonder and spark to her poetry. She also is an experienced branding and website-design professional, and has worked for several years as a camp advisor with Camp Kesem (a national nonprofit for kids impacted by a parent’s cancer), and is a more than avid runner. She types on a 1928 Remington portable No. 2.
AUSTINJena Kirkpatrick
Jena has competed in two National Poetry Slam competitions, co-written, directed and produced three multimedia performance art pieces, and self-published eight books. She leads multiple workshops for Badgerdog Literary, a writers-in-the-schools nonprofit based in Austin. She is the editor of Writing for Positive Change, an anthology featuring members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas. She types on a 1940s Royal. More at jenapoetforhire.com
AUSTINBianca Alyssa Powell-Pérez
Bianca was born and raised in Mission, Texas — a small town bordering Mexico. She is a Senior Lecturer at Texas State University, the MFA Program Coordinator, and has an MFA in Poetry from there as well. Her latest chapbook is Gemini Gospel (Host Publications, 2023) and she is the Poetry Editor at Porter House Review. Bianca’s poems have been published in Magma Poetry UK, ReclamationATX, The Sappho Diaries, East French Press, and elsewhere. Her poetry centers on the idea of her Latin culture, family, spirituality, and womanhood. She types on a 1970s light blue Royal Safari. More at biancaalyssaperez.com
AUSTINEli
Karren
Eli is a poet and educator based in Austin, TX. His work can be found in the Harvard Review, Cimarron Review, Free State Review, and the anthology Turn it Up: Music in Poetry from Jazz to Hip Hop. He is a graduate of the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
DENVERMegan Benedict
Megan is part of our Denver Rodeo! Megan is a children’s book author and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first two picture books, both written in verse, Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them and Sea Wolves: Keepers of the Rainforest, debuted in 2024. Her poetry has been published in Bravery Magazine and the Hyacinth Review. She types on a green 1930s Remington Portable No. 3 named Dorothy. More at meganmbenedict.com
SEATTLELily
Myers
Lily is the backbone of our Seattle Rodeo! Lily graduated from Wesleyan University, where she competed on the slam poetry team and won Best Love Poem at the 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational for her poem, “Shrinking Women.” Her books include the YA novel in verse, This Impossible Light (Viking Books). She types on a 1930s Remington Portable named Wednesday. More at lilymyerswrites.com
NEW ENGLANDGennaRose Nethercott
GennaRose is a dear Friend-of-the-Rodeo and sometimes joins our New England gigs! She is a poet, performer, and folklorist from the forests of Brattleboro, Vermont, also occasionally living in Boston and New Orleans. Her latest book, Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart (Penguin, 2024) marks her debut into short fiction. Her other books include the novel Thistlefoot (Penguin, 2022), and a book-length poem, The LumberJack’s Dove (HarperCollins, 2018), which was selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the National Poetry Series. Genna helps create the folklore podcast Lore and has been typing poems-to-order across the globe since 2012 on a 1952 Hermes Rocket. More at gennarosenethercott.com
Check out our books!
Typewriter Rodeo
Some of our favorite poems over the years. And the stories behind them.
“A damn fine book of poetry – Yee-haw!” (Tom Hanks)
“A lively, collage-form gathering of poems.” (Billy Collins)
“Your heart is hungry for this art.” (Laurie Halse Anderson)
Pet Poems PLUS
A companion to the award-winning Pet Poems, with our best tips and tricks to help kids write poems.
“Offers endless prompts that will transform poetry writing for younger readers.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Huge success!” (School Librarian, Dallas)
Hey, we’re on NPR!
For nearly a decade, we’ve done weekly radio poems for Texas Standard, a statewide program produced by Austin’s NPR station. Airs every Friday morning!