“Perhaps you wrote this story, and then I happened”

[mount_oregano]

This is weird and wonderful:

The very first short story I sold, back in 1995, “Poet for Hire,” involved a young woman with curly brown hair who starts a freelance poetry business in Milwaukee. She works out of a storefront in the 2200 block of Kinnickinnic Avenue, down the street from where I used to live, and she gets vital inspiration from the plants in the Arid Dome of Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory.

Last month I was contacted by Anja Notanja Sieger. Someone found the story and sent it to her — because she’s Milwaukee’s first and only poet for hire, she has written poems in the Arid Dome, her husband owns a used bookstore in the exact same storefront in the story, and she has curly brown hair.

Anja invited me to her podcast, The Subtle Forces. I read the story out loud, and we chatted about its coincidences. “Perhaps you wrote this story,” she said, “and then I happened.”

You can listen to the podcast here:

https://subtleforces.podbean.com/e/episode-37-poet-for-hire/

Comments

[history_monk]

The universe has a sense of humour. It's being nicer than usual this time. Had Anja been born when you wrote the story?

[mount_oregano]

She was eight years old, so she wasn't created by the story, but maybe in some mysterious and untraceable way, she was shaped by it.

Yes, the universe gave us a lovely surprise!

[rachelmanija]

That is amazing.

[mount_oregano]

Amazing and delightful!

The last line of the story: "Yes, Milwaukee needed poetry -- responsible poetry."

[asakiyume]

Whoaaaaaaaa

Very, very, very, cool.

[mount_oregano]

We were both thrilled that the universe lined up this way.