After we finished shopping at the Wednesday Larchmont Farmers Market, we commissioned Holly Juliet Zimbert, a Pop-Up poet writing on Larchmont Blvd to write a poem for Buzz readers. We gave her these three words – Larchmont Village, local news, community — as the prompt.
We forage our stories
at the root.
A neighborhood dense with song.
The violet blue Jacarandas hum.
Weavings of essence unfurl.
On Wednesday the street is lined
with offerings.
A trumpet player softens the meter view.
A tart reader invites & aligns
in presence.
A poet clucks as a guitarist plucks
the tender chords of belonging.
In the future
we will still need the bees.
A hive thrives souly off of diversity.“Larchmont Village, local news, community” for Larchmont Buzz readers 1/17/24
Larchmont Village, CA_Holly Juliet Zimbert @pussycroc
www.hollyjulietzimbert.com
Zimbert is a poet and multimedia artist who travels around the country, typing custom poetry onto original abstract watercolor paintings. She has set up her poetry rig in California (Los Angeles, Ojai, Ventura, San Francisco), Massachusetts (Gloucester, Salem, Boston & Ipswich), and for the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Originally from LA, Zimbert told us she has recently moved back so we might see her back on Larchmont. When she’s not on street corners and in parks, she’s available for events like weddings, markets, festivals, and corporate parties.
Our poem was typed on Zimbert’s Hermes Rocket portable typewriter. According to Zimbert, it was designed for war correspondents and manufactured until the 1960s. Her machine comes complete with a metal case cover which she uses to store her watercolor papers. In its heyday, Hermes advertised that the green color of their machines was found to be “the most relaxing to the eye…least likely to interfere with the operator’s efficiency.” according to the Smithsonian.
Zimbert told us she can still get ribbons on metal spools instead of plastic which makes the type on the page look more authentic. We couldn’t resist sharing this photo of a sidewalk sale at the Larchmont Typewriter Shop from 1973 when it was located at 202 N. Larchmont, now the home of Diptyque.
According to the book, “Larchmont,” the shop had relocated to here from 110 N. Larchmont where it was located in 1960 according to the Los Angeles telephone directory. With apologies in advance for the sales pitch, “Larchmont” can be found at Chevalier’s Books.
