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The Library Poet feat. Traci Taylor · philly has heART

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This is Robert Marsh and you're listening to
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Philly Has Heart podcast. In this podcast, we
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sit down with the artists, gallerists, educators,
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curators, and other creatives who comprise the
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Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
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exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
0:31
are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
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is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
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this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
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me always is my producer, Lucinda Deckertland.
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Hola! And today we have Tracy Taylor of The Library
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Poet. Welcome. Hi, thank you for having me. Yes,
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yes. So Tracy, you are a former librarian. Does
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that mean you've always been a voracious reader?
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Voracious. Voracious. Voracious? I don't know.
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I don't know. She's not a dinosaur. I mean, maybe.
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Let's start from that. Does that mean you've
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always been a voracious reader, thus influencing
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your career choice? I would say yes, but there's
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a little bit more to the story there. Tell us,
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tell us. So, born and raised in Cape May, New
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Jersey, so not too far from Philly. Yes. Yeah.
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As a kid, I would carry like stacks of books
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down the stairs, like very small, before I could
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even read. And I think this was very influenced
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by... librarians in my life and I would open
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these picture books that had words of them and
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just like pretend like I knew what I was reading.
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I was a very imaginative kid and sort of I think
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my love for reading intertwines with my love
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for writing. A lot of kids you know they do like
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lemonade stands and I was creating newspapers
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which I mean It would be more so zines, but I
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just didn't have the word for that back then,
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right? So as a kid, I would create different
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sections of a newspaper and go around to my neighbors
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and thankfully they were very kind. Here's 25
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cents, but I had a comic section and everything
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like that. So I think my love for reading and
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writing started very, very young. There's a story
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beyond that that kind of led to my... profession
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as a librarian, but it wasn't always what I wanted
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to do. What I wanted to always do was be a writer
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for sure, and then some influences down the road
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kind of projected me into that. Let's talk about
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those influences in a second. Interjection though.
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Did you come of age around the time of the Pizza
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Hut personal pan pizza? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, absolutely.
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Yeah. No, we're in 1990. So yeah. Were you just
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eating pizza all the time? Pizzas actually, you
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know, maybe that's a connection I never made.
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Pizza is my favorite food. So there is maybe,
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you know, one in the same could be. I definitely
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was up. I was in pizza and I would go to the
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Pizza Hut in Wildwood a lot to claim my fries.
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So for sure. Can you please share with the audience?
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who may or may not know about the Pizza Hut connection?
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Yeah, now to be fair I don't remember a lot about
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it because I was in Italy during the 90s during
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my peak pizza eating years, but tell me if I'm
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wrong Pizza Hut had a program during the 90s
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where if you read a certain amount of books during
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the summer or during a period of time they would
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give you a personal pan pizza. Yeah, there was
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like a card or something, unless I'm misremembering.
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Robert fact check. It was called Pizza Hut Bookit.
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Yeah. Program. Founded in 1984 by Pizza Hut,
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Bookit is a reading incentive program designed
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to inspire children to develop lifelong reading
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habits and discover their joy of reading. Wow
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children who met their reading goals can earn
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a free one topping personal pan pizza each program
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month Pizza Hut responsible for the Millennials
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being literate 100 % Fun easy and rewarding.
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There's even an app now, so you better sign up
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your voice Well, my youngest is two so get started
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early Tracy. Let's get back to you Before we
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went on our Pizza Hut tangent, we were about
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to go down an educational background path. Could
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you share that with us? Absolutely, yeah. So
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that part of the journey is absolutely what influenced
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me to go into being a librarian. So my undergrad
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is from Millersville University, which is in
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And I was an English
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literature major, print media studies minor.
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And right after I graduated from Millersville,
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I moved to Philly. As one sometimes does with
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an English literature degree, I was working as
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a server in various different restaurants. Still
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trying to figure it out. Wasn't really sure what
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I was doing or not with life. I knew I wanted
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to be a writer, but I wasn't sure what the next
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step was. And somewhere along that journey, I
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ended up applying for a job to be an assistant
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lacrosse coach, which I have some background
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in as a coach at a Quaker school in Germantown
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and the athletic director there. was a really
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big pivotal point into getting me involved in
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the school there and various different roles.
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You know, I was substituting in P .E. I was doing
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a lot of things and by happenstance was asked
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to like... chaperone a field trip and a woman
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sat next to me and we got talking and she was
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the librarian at the time and asked me if I would
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also like to help out there within the library
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and I was working there for a little bit and
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I loved it absolutely fell in love and she had
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retired and current director of the library there
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now had taken over and And there was a moment
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where I was working within there and she was
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in the library and we sat down and she kind of
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asked me like, what do you think your next steps
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are? And I was still trying to figure it out.
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I thought I was actually going to go to grad
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school for social work. And she was like, you
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know what I really feel like I could see you
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as a middle school librarian and I was like I
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didn't even see that as a possibility and I remembered
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I recalled back to like my childhood of how important
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reading was to me and I have had so many different
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roles and jobs in life and The fact that she
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saw that in me meant so much, and she's a really
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dear friend now and a huge mentor back then.
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So with that, I ended up applying to grad school
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for my master's in librarianship. I got into
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Clarion University, it's now called Penn West
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Clarion, which is an online program. And I had
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a couple of friends from undergrad that had gone
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there through that program as well. So I knew
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that I was going to be able to still work and
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attend school. Another part of the story is I
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ended up actually applying for a full -time librarian
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job at another Quaker school, which is what.
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took me out of Philly for a little bit. It was
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a school in DC and I ended up getting the job.
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So I was a middle school librarian assistant
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while I was getting my master's in librarianship.
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All because this one person, friend, woman saw
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something in me that I wasn't even aware I was
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there yet. We graduate from grad school. Where
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do we go from there? So, yeah, right. So I actually
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graduated during the pandemic. And it was an
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online program anyway, but there would have been
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an opportunity to walk, which I was hoping to
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do, but it was 2020. May 2020, so like the height
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of everything. Schools were shut down. I was
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working from home, like it was as a librarian.
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Imagine how you do that as a middle school librarian
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assistant, but we made it work. And so I graduated
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and I was at Sidwell for another year. And then...
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I was kind of presented with this like dream
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opportunity of working as a crisis counselor
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supporting LGBTQ plus young people in crisis
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and this felt like This opportunity was there
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and I was like, not only do I get to like pursue
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this dream as a librarian, but now I get to shift
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into something that also I've always wanted to
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do in my life. So that kind of speaks to the
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social work. Yeah, exactly. So it felt like I
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was like, wow, like how lucky am I that I get
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to like live a life and do. multiple different
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things that I've always wanted to do and I was
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really excited about it. So I've been doing that
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for the past few years since I made that shift
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and I feel like with the Library Poet I get to
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still have a connection in some ways to a job
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that I also deeply care about as a librarian.
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Oh, I love that, I love that. Speaking of the
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Library Poet project, could you tell our audience
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a little bit about that? What it is. I write
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my poetry out on these library cards, the date
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due cards, checkout cards, whatever you want
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to call them. And the way it's evolved now is
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I go around the city and I don't usually have
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like a spot in mind when I do this. I'm usually
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just walking around. I'll have like a particular
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one or two cards that I'm thinking maybe something
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will call to me. And I sort of see like a spot
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in the city that reflects the poem in some way
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or just feels connected to me and I'll take a
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photo of me holding the poem with the card and
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the backdrop of Philly is kind of like, you know,
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the canvas all together. what the library poet
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is what inspired you or like what made you think
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of using the book checkout cards because that's
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so clever yeah and can you buy those on amazon
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or yeah how are you getting these so right no
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no definitely not definitely not amazon i'm not
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using them anymore are they Some libraries do
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for sure. Librarians use different vendors and
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stuff like that. There's like the library store
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that has them online. I had them recycled from
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a library that was discarding them. And a friend
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of mine actually that I worked with back in DC
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had her own stack of a different color. And when
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we realized that about each other, we like exchanged
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our cards. So like when we lived near each other,
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we would We used to write notes to each other
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on them. So when I moved, thankfully, I held
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onto them. I didn't get rid of them. And I sort
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of remembered that I had them in a desk, which
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is part of where the story of the Library Poet
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evolves. Oh, that's incredible. So speaking of
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that, what inspired the project? Yeah, so it
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was actually... We had a lot of snowy days this
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year, but it was the blizzard particularly at
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the end of January that I was at home in my apartment
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and had a lot of creative energy. And sometimes
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what I usually do anyway is just write out poems
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when I'm feeling like the urge to do that. And
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there was. a lot of things happening at that
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time that have been happening, that are still
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happening very violently in the country, in the
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world. And I usually show up in different ways,
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but this time I wanted to try to... get that
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out creatively. So I had written a few different
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poems. I was marinating on so many different
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things about like, where do I want to go next
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creatively in my life? It sounds so philosophical,
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but like, I was like, oh, you know, I think I
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still have those library cards in my desk. And
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I was like, what if I took a verse from one of
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these poems, put it out on this library card?
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What would that look like? So the layers of the
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library poet kind of came together bit by bit
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and all at once. But I wrote the poem on the
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library card and it didn't start with me taking
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the photos in the city. I was like trying to
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artistically take them around my apartment and
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then inspired. We were snowed in. Right. No,
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exactly. I was inspired by the snow too and the
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one of the first ones I ever I put out there.
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But I, you know, I was trying to think of different
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things. I didn't even know if I was going to
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just post it on my personal one. And then I really
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just thought. I was thinking about the artists
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that influenced me and the writers that influenced
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me and I was like what if I used an alias of
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some sort and started a whole different account
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and that's kind of the birth of The Library Poet.
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So yes, you started this project during the blizzard
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of this year and since then you've published
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over 60 pieces to Instagram, many of which are
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tied to your identity as a queer and gay person,
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some political. Power to the people, melt the
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ice! frequently about relationships. Be relatable.
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Very relatable. Can you expand on, you know,
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how this has then been able to give you a platform
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and a voice while we're kind of going through
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this time frame? Absolutely. I definitely want
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to credit, again, the people that have influenced
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me to even like start this, the artists around
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Philly. We are so surrounded by street artists,
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artist muralists everywhere and I wouldn't be
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doing what I am as a creative and existing as
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I am as a person without those influences in
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the city. So I will say that I think they really
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gave me the courage to be vulnerable and in putting
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my voice out there. I don't recall who said this,
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but it's like you want to be able to create what
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makes you happy, because that's what's going
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to keep you going. And you're just going to hope
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that someone along the way really resonates with
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it. And I feel like that's how I've always tried
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to be as a writer, as a creative person. It's
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a way for me to feel better, to get these words
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out and to help people feel less alone. Hope
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it does that. I mean, you know, it at least makes
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me feel that way. So to be able to combine so
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many different causes that I care about my own
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identities and the city that I absolutely love.
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And I'm so happy that I live here again. because
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before I was even doing this, I was always taking
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photos of the city, like at every angle, whatever,
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the skyline is my absolute favorite. So to be
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able to be putting all these elements into one
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is truly like, I'm doing what I've always wanted
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to do. I just didn't know that it was possible.
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And even with your day job now, that's a lot
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to carry. So having some type of creative outlet
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or something else to kind of lean on, to kind
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of break out from what is most likely a sometimes
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very difficult day while taking on trauma around
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you, it's a beautiful expression of art that
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you get to share with everyone. Thank you, yeah.
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Tracy, where can our audience find you? So you
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can find me on Instagram at The Library Poet.
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Excellent, excellent. Thank you. Everyone, check
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out Tracy's work and we'll be right back with
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some rapid fire questions. And we're back with
15:58
rapid fire questions. What is your favorite beverage
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at the moment? I really only drink water. I'll
16:05
give you, wait, no, here we go. Staying hydrated.
16:08
A piccoltini from Tattooed Moms. Ooh! A piccoltini
16:11
from Tattooed Moms. Yes! I've never been there.
16:15
It's so close to my house. It's going back. You're
16:18
my favorite spot. It's speaking of... We were
16:20
in Cape May from Trail Day weekend, and the friends
16:23
have an indoor pizza maker, and we made a pickle
16:28
pizza. Oh, that sounds so interesting. It was
16:31
so good. It was so good. With an Alfredo sauce
16:36
on it. Oh my gosh. Oh, I want to go back. This
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is their rapid fire section. All right, fine,
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fine, fine. Back to the questions. Best bookstore
16:54
in the city? Oh, so I'm going to cheat. I have
16:57
three answers. Giovanni's Room, a thousand percent,
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and The Wooden Shoe on South Street. And then
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the third one I would say is Book Trader, but
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there's a specific spot in Book Trader. It's
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a bookstore out in Old City. And if you go upstairs
17:16
in this one corner, they have a I always thought
17:20
I was gonna gatekeep this, but I guess not. They
17:22
have this one little corner that is filled with
17:25
vintage queer books from like the 80s and 90s.
17:28
There's like fiction, nonfiction, and it's one
17:31
of my favorite spots to get lost in for like
17:34
hours. I love that. I love that. Are you gonna
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start reading, Robert? We are gonna go back to,
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I did listen to all of the racial read, heated
17:44
travel read, series books, the audio. Sorry guys.
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No, audio book counts. Audio book counts. Thank
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you. Thank you. As a librarian, I have to say
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that any way you're reading that matters, even
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if it's listening. For accessibility too. Accessibility.
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I love it. Thank you very much. Then I am an
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avid reader after that series. Woo! Oh my gosh.
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Season two coming out soon. Can't wait. Favorite
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genre of book? Oh, realistic fiction. Or I do
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love non -fiction, I will say. I love a good
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memoir. Ooh. I really do. Okay. Favorite memoir?
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I love Mariah Carey's or I will say Robin's book
18:27
about Whitney Houston, which I forget what it's
18:30
called. A song for you maybe is what? The singer
18:32
Robin did a book. No, sorry. Robin Crawford.
18:35
I believe her name is Robin Crawford. It was
18:37
like Whitney Houston's best friend. Love it.
18:41
Thank you. Swedish 90s teen sensation. 2000s
18:49
club. I didn't know Robin was into that. Icon
18:51
Robin is BFF. What's BFF with Whitney? I also
18:56
have three answers to that. Tina Fey as well.
18:59
Oh, Bossy Fance. Yeah, yeah, Bossy Fance. I read
19:01
that in two hours sitting down on my couch. I
19:05
consumed that book so quickly. Big Tina Fey fan.
19:08
Upper Darby girl. Oh, and she vacations in Kate
19:10
May. Yes. She's a Kate May girl. Kate May and
19:13
Mollwood. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you soon, Tina.
19:18
Favorite place to score a cheesesteak? I love
19:21
Cosme's Daily. I have to say, I definitely am
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a Cosme's Daily person. Thousand percent. Book
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you find yourself revisiting over and over again.
19:31
Letters Never Sent by Sandra Moran, which is
19:34
actually, I got that at Giovanni's room back
19:37
in 2014 or 13 before they closed and then reopened.
19:42
That was one of my favorite books. I randomly
19:45
picked it up. It was a new release back then
19:47
and I read it almost every year. Lovely, lovely.
19:51
And finally, favorite Philadelphia neighborhood.
19:54
Bella Vista, hands down. There's Isaiah's mosaics
19:58
are everywhere. Oh yes, yes. For that reason.
20:01
Absolutely. Okay, bonus question. What are you
20:04
most excited for for this Pride? Oh, being back
20:08
here with friends. Honestly, I have lived in
20:10
DC for eight years and I haven't been to a Philly
20:13
Pride since I last lived here in 2017. So to
20:17
be surrounded by my chosen family in Philly,
20:20
in the gayborhood, I'm really excited about that.
20:22
Love it! Love that! Everyone, check out the Library
20:27
Poet and thank you so much for sharing your time.
20:30
Thank you both so much Thanks for tuning in to
20:56
Philly has art your weekly cultural update Until
20:59
next time, keep creating, keep connecting, and
21:02
remember, Philly has heart and art.