Typewriter Rodeo.
Connecting people through poetry.
Our History
In May 2013, four friends set up a table at the 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.
Our first “customer” was a kid who asked for a haiku about a dragon. As we typed, someone asked, “What’s going on here?” The kid answered: “They’re writing poems! On typewriters! On whatever topic you want!” And so we were.
And still are! From that small fair in Austin, we’ve snowballed to hundreds of events nationwide. We’ve been hired at the Smithsonian (they brought out their old typewriters for us!), Willie Nelson’s music festival, even a beach in Cabo. We’ve taken the Rodeo to small coffeehouses in Maine and international conferences in California.
And our approach is still the same: A stranger comes up, gives us a topic, and we give them a custom poem. And a moment of connection that is vastly different, and more meaningful, than event swag.
We’ve also expanded to weekly NPR poems, keynotes and workshops, and a heartwarming book of poems & stories (Andrews McMeel 2018). From those first four friends in Austin, we now have over a dozen poets on our Rodeo team – from Seattle to Boston to Denver – and growing.
OUR 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.
We are first and foremost a team of friends — a group of playful, accomplished writers. And we rarely appear solo at events; part of what gives the Rodeo its magic is that we show up together.
Having more than one poet at the table creates additional energy and interaction. While one of us is busy typing a poem for a guest, another may be greeting the next person in line, answering questions about what we’re up to, or engaging multiple guests in conversation as they come up with their topics.
As we often like to say, “It takes two to Rodeo!”
BOSTON, CO-FOUNDERJodi Egerton
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, and types on a 1970 Litton Imperial.
AUSTIN, CO-FOUNDERDavid Fruchter
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.
AUSTIN, CO-FOUNDERKari Anne Holt
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
AUSTIN, CO-FOUNDERSean Petrie
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 legal 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.
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
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
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.
Our Books
Typewriter Rodeo: Real People, Real Stories, Custom Poems.
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: How to Write Poems About Pets (also not just pets).
Based on a decade of workshops, this companion to the award-winning Pet Poems collects 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!” (Elementary School Librarian, Dallas)
Radio Poems
For nearly a decade, we’ve done weekly poems for The Texas Standard, a statewide radio program produced by KUT, Austin’s NPR station. Often based on listener requests, we write and record the poems on-the-spot in KUT’s studio. Catch us on the air every Friday morning!