Typing Explosion at library

Typing Explosion Union Local 898 brings their unique performance art to the Shoreline Library at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2.

Sierra Nelson, Sarah Paul Ocampo and Rachel Kessler make up the Seattle poetry group known as Typing Explosion Union Local 898. Part performance, part poetry assembly line, this trio of young women will stage guerrilla poetry construction in the library. Participants can select a title from the card file or choose their own, then the typists go to work to create an original poem. This program engages the audience in the process of creating poetry as it unfolds, emphasizing the humor, spontaneity and excitement of collective creation.

A rapid fire experience of clicking typewriter keys, bells and shrieking whistles, the process begins when a customer chooses a title and hands it to the first writer in the line. Pre-fab titles such “You Were Never My Favorite” and “As We are Not in Love, Let Us Go Out and Look at the Stars” are available to choose from. When the first verse is finished, whistles sound and it is passed on to the next person, who types furiously on her chosen machine. At the end of the assembly line, the poem is signed, rubber stamped, and three horns sound in unison. A union break occurs every 35 minutes, during which the three women sip coffee.

Sponsored by the Shoreline City Library Board and the City of Shoreline, the event is appropriate for teens and adults. The Shoreline Library is located at 345 NE 175th St. For more information call 206-362-7550.