The archaic and rarely heard clickity-clack of fingers on a typewriter echoes down Queen Street West. It’s Thursday at 11 p.m., and Kaile H. Glick is furiously pounding on her 1950s Smith Corona Skyriter. Slowly but surely, a small crowd gathers around her modest setup, which includes a folding chair, a small table, an upside-down hat, and a homemade sign that reads, “The Spontaneous Prose Store.” Glick looks up at her curious audience and asks them: “Topic, title or first line?”
The 22-year-old poet has been taking to the streets to write personalized prose since the beginning of June. “How can I get paid to write?” says Glick of the conundrum that inspired the project, echoing a common sentiment in literary circles. “This is my attempt to become a legitimate wordsmith.”
Glick hails from Toronto but spent several years in Halifax and then San Francisco and found it difficult to break into the local poetry and reading scene upon her return. “For poets in Toronto, resources are limited,” says Glick. Inspired by musician busker friends, she decided to try her luck writing directly for the people.
For whatever you’re willing to donate, Glick will write you a custom piece of prose – usually 10 to 12 lines – based on your suggestion of a topic, title or first line. “There are a lot of requests related to love or revenge,” says Glick. “And if there are kids around, cats.” The creative process usually takes about three to six minutes, and donations range from a few cents to $50, though most people drop a few bucks in the hat. She says she makes about $50 to $80 an outing, and she does it a couple times a week.
“Yorkville is a good spot, because they only carry billfolds – no change,” says Glick with a laugh. She’s set up shop all over the city this summer and is currently looking for an indoor home.
Glick takes a carbon copy of everything she writes, and this November she’ll be publishing an anthology of the hundreds of pieces she’s created so far. “It’s been a really empowering experience to engage people this way,” says Glick. “When they throw money in my hat I’m like, ‘You’re paying me for this?’ It surprises me every time.”
See where Glick will be setting up shop next at thespontaneousprosestore.wordpress.com.
