Dream Poet For Hire

Mailing Haikus, Crafting Love Letters, and Selling Dreams since 2011, Dream Poet For Hire is a writing service by Marshall James Kavanaugh. For small monetary donations I will write some of your wildest dreams! Send an email to [email protected] to request a poem written for you or someone you love.

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Front page in @usatoday this week!

Feeling all sorts of gratitude to Phaedra Trethan for capturing so much of my story and depicting some of the magic I experience daily as a dream poet who sets up in public spaces around Philly and around the country.

Read the full article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/23/philadelphia-poetry-busker/73326769007/

Need a poem? How one man cranks out verse − on a typewriter − in a Philadelphia park

Marshall James Kavanaugh takes a battered old typewriter to a park and lets people give him a prompt for a poem. They walk away with a piece

Also worth it to say that in the print edition the other headlines sharing the front page speak to the very real struggles facing our world. I don't take it lightly that a feature on poetry was paired with articles about tyranny and the police state. I think that's exactly where the work of a poet belongs. To challenge those unfortunate norms and encourage a passerby to dream a better world.

I think of Joy Harjo's "Poet Warrior" or James

Baldwin's "The Artist's Struggle for Integrity", or Nina Simone's "An Artist's Duty", and so many other statements on how the Poet affects change.

I'm so grateful for these literary ancestors to guide me and my peers. Also, I wouldn't be anywhere without all of you who have consistently showed me so many facets of how poetry has an impact. Thank you!

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In my endless quest for poetry, I’ve written poems in all sorts of places around the country. Part of choosing where to live and who to make community with often has to do with who values you and your work.

Since I moved to Philly 15 years ago, I’ve witnessed the city going through what can only be described as an art renaissance. And though much of my content here is about MY experiences performing poetry, part of my tenure here has been getting to meet and work with some of the most influential artists, musicians, poets, curators, and dreamers. It’s being a part of what we are all creating together that keeps me continually inspired.

All that to say, I love to see @philamuseum and some of the other larger art institutions in our city become such a focal point to all this magic. Creating spaces that make the art even more accessible is such an important feat. I’ve been super grateful to be in the mix.

House Party last Saturday was truly transformative. With light, music, and so much bliss.

We were dancing. We were singing. We were a lit scene. And I’m still reminiscing on how cool this city can be when we dream all at once.

June 2023

📸 by @sinae_ig

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In May, I was invited to write poems at @phl_airport to celebrate 25 years of public art at the airport. Over the years @phlairportart has curated some incredible installations and performances. I love how they’ve cultivated an accessible space for the general public to enjoy local artists. At the same time it is exciting to think how these artists are connected to a world audience that might not usually traffic an art gallery. It’s been a special honor to be in the mix, writing poems for travelers as they pass through Philadelphia.

Personally, it’s such a delight to witness how poetry has an impact in all these different avenues. I find there is always a need for a poem whether I am set up in a public park, at a music festival, featured at the airport, or spotlighted in the art museum. Poetry is always in demand.

What a beautiful reflection of humanity that we still look to a poem to make sense of our experience. Connecting us deeper to the beat of the heart. Channeling the bards of old, to expand tomorrow’s horizons. So much of our reality can feel disjointed and out of sync, and yet in a poem there is still this great wave of harmony.

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The moonlight was dancing between artist, musician, and dreamer. Last Friday at @barnesfoundation, their Young Professional’s Night called Moonlit. Celebrating the new exhibit of artwork by Marie Laurencin and 50 years of hip hop.

The scene was queer and eccentric. Capturing the atmosphere of art salon since time immemorial. With good vibrations and extra libations. Drag Queen and breakdance cypher.

A poet too, to spark your curiosity and write a personalized poem just for you.

I’m filled with so much gratitude for being invited back to once again craft my magic. I let the moon guide each poem and channeled the master painters of last century hung up all around the room. I tried my hat at painting in verse. For all the words’ potential I found a few to stick and fill the canvas.

Thank you again to the curators at the Barnes Foundation for creating such a spectacle and having me in the mix.

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The Philly Renaissance is in full swing. The museum hall fills with young creatives. Impressionist art projected upon the granite walls. The DJ plays Fela Kuti and other songs of social change.

We celebrate 100 years at the @barnesfoundation. And from everything I’ve read of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, I imagine 100 years ago they were having parties like this, in big ballrooms like this, and filled with artistic genius like this. Thus named the Roaring Twenties.

One key difference between then and now is accessibility. Then this would be a gala reserved for “high society”. Now we are made to feel the high society. The museum opens its doors to the creative minds of Philadelphia. It encourages all the diverse expressions that make up our beautiful city to show up dressed in bright colors and avant garde shapes. Creates space for them to overlap and interweave and with any luck paint a grand new golden age.

It’s exciting to meet and exchange ideas with these culture makers and community organizers of our generation. I write poems for them about “Purpose”, “Art As Healing”, “Infinity”, “Film & Family”, and “A Painter Who Only Paints Men For The Last 2 Years, & How It Changed Her Life”.

I don’t take lightly how poetry has been curated into the evening. Something to be archived for historians 100 years from now to look back and find.

Who was there. Who performed. What was talked about. What dreams came to life. The plagues and struggles we survived, in order to come back together and thrive.

All of this in the fabric of our gathering. In the connections made outside the poems being written live.

What a beautiful spectacle.

I’m extremely grateful to be in it. Excited to be alive at this time. A time when museums in Philly craft experiences alongside this city’s unique collective spirit.

Whereas many artists in Modigliani’s era (currently on exhibition at The Barnes) may have remained out of focus in their lifetime, we see in our time now perhaps a chance for local, lesser known artists to socialize and dance and even soak up some of that limelight inside the great halls of the museum.

No time like the present.

November 2022

📸 by @jimmycreates

[dreampoetforhire]

Last night at the Mural Arts Wall Ball, I saw the great minds of my time enter the ring and champion the power of voice! Serendipitous that our venue, 2300 Arena, typically hosts boxing and professional wrestling.

But this was no death match. No, a Def Jam poetry slam revival is less a battle and more a tribute to the heart’s vibrance. Each performer took their time to work over the crowd. Raising spirits in the details between the lines. Pieced together the identity behind the microphone and took the listener on a journey through sound and rhythm.

I knew there was a movement in store when the DJ launched the evening with a favorite track by Fela Kuti. Meanwhile aerialists defied gravity, swinging trapeze from the ceiling. Live muralists transformed our surroundings with colors and unique mindforms. Talk about a dream exhibition! Nearby friend and fellow BarnesWest Artist @karensmithdrums led a jazz ensemble on djembe. And I heard one of my favorite Philly poets @urucker take the stage and transmute feeling into sonic overtures like light beams.

As poets, we were there to honor literary legends, Sonia Sanchez and Danny Simmons. The architects of where Philly’s poetry scene arrives today. But as the night progressed it became a celebration of Philly’s cultural might present in each individual.

I met art curator and patron, mother and husband, dreamer and visionary one after the other. And each with a story to tell. Some magic to inspire. A gift of creative impulse to light another’s candle. They asked for poems about Love, Purpose, Growth, Teaching, and all colors of the rainbow. And I felt the Muse dancing happily between us all.

What an incredible way to bring National Poetry Month in Philly to a close. Still a few more days left, but I think after last night I’m going to take it slow and enjoy the reflections!

Thanks so much to Katy from @wittygrittyphl for inviting me to be a part of the ceremonies and to @muralarts for reflecting so much of the diverse dreamscape that is our home! These twenties are roaring, and it’s so special to see all those who are playing a part in making the world a better place, more full of creative expression!

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“Write a poem about Obsidian ” written on March 26, 2023 while busking at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA. #poetsofinstagram #typewriterpoetry #lovepoem #dreampoetforhire #marshalljameskavanaugh (at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqZmzAcuKYB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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It’s nice some days to come back to the essence of what a poem is. It’s the feeling of seeing the world bloom. Watching the bees buzz upon each flower. Biking through a warm Spring rain. March 2023 📸 by @chazzfinnigan #dreampoetforhire #poetforhire #poetryondemand #streetwriters #buskinglife #busker #typewriterpoetry #poetsofinstagram #marshalljameskavanaugh #publicpoetry #rittenhousesquare #phillypoet #phillypoetry (at Rittenhouse Square) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYgZc5JOXv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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“Write a poem about Feelings” written on March 26, 2023 while busking at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA. #poetsofinstagram #typewriterpoetry #lovepoem #dreampoetforhire #marshalljameskavanaugh (at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYf5qMJX6K/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dreampoetforhire]

It’s nice some days to come back to the essence of what a poem is. It’s the feeling of seeing the world bloom. Watching the bees buzz upon each flower. Biking through a warm Spring rain. March 2023 📸 by @chazzfinnigan #dreampoetforhire #poetforhire #poetryondemand #streetwriters #buskinglife #busker #typewriterpoetry #poetsofinstagram #marshalljameskavanaugh #publicpoetry #rittenhousesquare #phillypoet #phillypoetry (at Rittenhouse Square) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYfbdWJDkf/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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I’m back from the road, but happy to announce my book series #TravelByHaiku, is restocked at TOA Thrift in Taos, New Mexico. This shop is brand new, but continues the American Dust tradition, offering gallery space for local artisans and collective dreamers. Not in New Mexico? You’re in luck! You can grab a copy of either book on Instagram. I’ll mail it out to you with some gifts from the road ASAP. I wrote both of my books over several cross-country road trips. Beyond the beautiful views, this poetry contains all you need to get you grounded through Winter for Spring. A meditation on earth and spirit, mixed with incantations for wilderness to reclaim our presence! (at TOA Thrift) https://www.instagram.com/p/CovN0o_JdGt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dreampoetforhire]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢. (at Andy Warhol's Grave) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cos6KBaJu0r/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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The road is filled with literary ancestors and rucksack revolutionaries that paved the way for future movements. In Tulsa, I visit the @woodyguthriecenter and the @bobdylancenter. The latter is where our former National Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo is now the artist-in-residence. Two songwriters that I grew up on. A poet warrior I am increasingly indebted to in influencing the language of my own creative path. The power of words reflected on the walls. The typewriter like the guitar. Destroying division. Providing the mechanism by which LOVE is given value. Oklahoma and its history of stolen land and forced migrations. Between the Trail of Tears and the Dust Bowl and the Burning of Black Wall Street, so many stories of tragedy. And yet, in a poem exchanged by these who have come before, there are great opportunities for healing. (at Woody Guthrie Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cop5dGYpks3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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“Write a poem about Old Friends on A Road Trip” written on February 11, 2023 while busking in New Mexico. #poetsofinstagram #typewriterpoetry #lovepoem #dreampoetforhire #marshalljameskavanaugh (at New Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/CopzbcEJujE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dreampoetforhire]

I landed in Los Angeles a week ago. I’m now about halfway across the country in Oklahoma. For the first time ever, I’m in the passenger seat rather than the driver, so I decided to challenge myself and write everything down as it happens. Trying to write a novel on the road that somehow encapsulates the energy of cross country travel and all the interesting conversations and experiences along the way. My pencil hardly moves quick enough on the page. This rough draft scattered, slipping, tripping, toppling through highways, and Americana. It’s interesting to realize a thesis in the middle of a project. To think about how the tiniest of interactions can gain meaning in hindsight. To tell folks over and over where you’re from and where you’re going. How that’s important to people for how they identify one another, because the mainstream of life separates us from our nomadic programming of ancestral origins. And yet, America is so designed for this kind of travel, with all its highways and roadstops and decaying Route 66 tourist traps and roadside motels. Yet, how much of it today is used merely to commute to and from work. Or for truck drivers to transport the season’s exports. In that slipslide of language, the cultures across continents become so much more apparent. The things that divide us, unite us, and bring life to our eyes. Flat plains. Big mountains. It’s all the same. It’s all very different. To try to write it down on the page proves difficult. Each experience offering an expansive viewpoint into human existence and the wilderness surrounding. (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/ConRDhZv2K0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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“Write a poem about Heartbreak” written on February 11, 2023 while busking in New Mexico. #poetsofinstagram #typewriterpoetry #lovepoem #dreampoetforhire #marshalljameskavanaugh (at New Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/CokrDMMPvOl/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=