Potential customers encircled the fast-talking, fast-typing Zach Houston, owner of the Poem Store, either waiting to toss in their request for a poem or to simply get a glimpse of the unique artist at work.
Since 2005, the Oakland resident can be seen outside storefronts, farmers markets and street corners all over the Bay Area, ready at any minutes notice to write a poem about anything that is requested of him.
This past Saturday, Houston was outside the farmers market in front of the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, a place he’s frequently at unless otherwise requested.
Houston really means it when he says he can write a poem on just about anything. Some of the poems he wrote that morning included ones about dogs, uncles, marriage and even a poem about time traveling.
In between his work, the poet would engage in playful conversations with customers and viewers, discussing subjects of all kinds such as the irony of an Oakland-based studio that offers ninja classes and about the recently released independent film “Safety Not Guaranteed,” namely how it’s based off of a classified advertisement in search of a time traveling partner.
Despite the conversations and constant coffee he was drinking, Houston still manages to write poems in what appears to be record time. He credits the power of caffeine, notably Blue Bottle Coffee company, as his driving force.
His poems come across as not the standard limerick or a cliché poem of rhymes, but rather a consistency of words describing different aspects of the desired subject. His style is as unique as his business style, a rarity that has made him a popular attraction in the Bay Area.
Most people would walk away very satisfied with their Houston originals and would even show their consideration for his poems by paying him, ranging from as little as $5 to as high as $100, saying the flexible pricing is due to an “inevitable result of communicating.”
The following is an excerpt from a poem he wrote exclusively for The Pioneer regarding being able to both write and do martial arts:
Space fills
Time with
Itself says
Jump sit still
Expensive literacy
Warrior monks
Poet philosophers
Stave off distinction
By learning all written
Language as a war form
His typewriter, a notable tool, has allowed Houston to continue his passion and business, saying since he was very young, he had a fascination and admiration for them.
“When I was young, the typewriters were free on the side of the road so I necessarily started discussing what to do with them besides write poems,” he explained.
While his way of words are admired by most people who come across him, Houston hasn’t always wanted to be a poet. He actually mentioned how he originally wanted to play for the San Francisco 49ers.
Yet, he has been able to secure quite a notable customer base with San Franciscan socialities.
“Joe Montana owns a poem. So does Gavin Newsom,” he added. “Newsom’s poem is about how his daughter Montana is named after the quarterback and not the state. He thought she was named after the state where she was conceived.”
While Houston is considered a local voice, his work with the Poem Store has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, NBC Evening News and most recently by National Public Radio (NPR). NPR even reported how his work has been featured in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. and at the San Francisco Camerawork.
