Public Typewriter Reveals New Yorkers' Inner Poets

What to Know

  • The typewriter was previously installed in Governors Island, Tompkins Square Park, Chelsea and the Flatiron District
  • It will be in McCarren Park until July 24
  • Hours of operation are Monday-Friday 3 p.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 12 p.m.-8 p.m.

A typewriter is waiting in a Brooklyn park for New Yorkers to write the poetry of the city.

The typewriter, in a booth in McCarren Park, allows people to enter their own poems which are collected, stored and posted online for users to read, share and comment on.

Shabazz Larkin, 33, said The Poetry Society's Typewriter Project allows him to "experience poetry in a way I never have."

The impromptu poets are allowed to create their own voices, but may also be influenced by what was written before them on the scroll.

Larkin, a Brooklyn native and poet, said, "I think that poetry needs a new connection with people and this definitely does that."

The Poetry Society hopes to preserve the poetic subconscious of the city. The typewriter was previously installed in Governors Island, Tompkins Square Park, Chelsea and the Flatiron District.

"It's incredible, I'm jealous I don't have one of these in my house," Larkin said.

The Typewriter Project will be in McCarren Park until July 24; hours of operation are Monday-Friday 3 p.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 12 p.m.-8 p.m.

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