COEUR d’ALENE — Clack clack clack clack clack.
The keys sing to traveling poet Kevin Devaney as he types original poems on his 1923 Royal Model P typewriter named for American actress Geraldine Page.
“The bell is even better,” he said Wednesday, sliding the carriage to create a pleasant ringing sound. “I call it my ‘fishing rod.'”
Traveling poet Devaney and partner in art Poppy C. are spending time in Coeur d’Alene to share their talents with the people of the Lake City — Devaney writes custom poems and Poppy designs henna body art.
“I have over 1,000 different poems down here that are always free to read if you just want to put a poem in your day,” Devaney said, sitting just outside the Art Spirit Gallery at a table beneath an umbrella, shaded from the afternoon sun.
To procure an original creation, at-will tips and donations are accepted.
“It’s very important to me that there is no monetary barrier to experience the art,” Devaney said. “But I do like eating food, so they are available to purchase as well.”
The poems are crafted on the spot by request, any topic: Cats, hot air balloons, road trips, whiptail lizards, vampires, happiness, you name it.
“Every poem in every book here was written just like that,” Devaney said, gesturing to a box of small collections and tiny books. “All of these will have a different volume number and the name of the city I was in when I wrote it. There’s 156 different books out now, so you know I’m not just doing the same 12 poems over and over.”
A vintage typewriter has a certain allure, he said.
“You can take it anywhere, you never have to charge it,” he said. “The ribbon in here will last for 18 months, it costs you 20 bucks to replace.
“You are, in a very literal sense connected to every letter you’re putting on the page,” he said. “It does slow you down, and for poetry, it’s a good thing.”
The antique typewriter is the original color, an emerald green.
“There is a sticker that came off when I did a wedding on Cape Cod but it used to say, ‘Hollywood Boulevard,'” he said. “The saltwater took it right off.”
He has the same Royal Model P in red.
“Her name is Madea,” Devaney said.
Susan Faltermeyer just happened to be walking with her little dog, Maymay, down Sherman Avenue and saw Devaney and Poppy C. at their stations.
“I think this is such a cool idea,” she said as Poppy C. concluded working on the floral henna design on her hands. “It’s an alternative busking.”
Faltermeyer said she received a kidney transplant in January and now bruises easily. She thought about getting real tattoos on her hands but much prefers the non-permanent henna alternative.
“There she was, it was just fortuitous,” Faltermeyer said. “This was really a nice little treat.”
Devaney, who was born and raised north of Boston, spent summers in South Carolina and lived in Santa Cruz for seven years, has a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in poetry and a master’s in poetry.
“I have two very expensive tassel hats,” he said with a chuckle.
He randomly discovered Coeur d’Alene by word of mouth while working in Park City, Utah. He also had a chance encounter in the artistic community of Provincetown, Mass., in 2021 with Art Spirit Gallery owner Blair Williams, who was more than happy to host the traveling artists when she realized they were in Coeur d’Alene.
“I just love that artform and what that brings,” she said. “What a brilliant thing. We are more than encouraging to have them out here because it balances what we do.”
The artists will be in front of the Art Spirit Gallery at 415 E. Sherman Ave. varying hours until after the Fourth of July.
Info: kevindevaneypoet.com
Traveling poet Kevin Devaney and art partner Poppy C. are seen Wednesday afternoon outside of the Art Spirit Gallery.
Susan Faltermeyer receives a henna tattoo Wednesday done by Poppy C. outside of the Art Spirit Gallery.
Kevin Devaney’s 1923 Royal Model P typewriter, named for American actress Geraldine Page.
