You can't get much for a buck these days, but with Valentine's Day around the corner you won't beat the deal Jon Bolduc is offering.
For just a loonie, he'll write a personalized poem for you, about anything you want.
We're not just talking about a sentence or two, we're talking about a decent piece of prose catered to convey the message you want to deliver.
"I've always loved poetry and always loved to write. I have journals from Grade 6 filled with poems," said the second year University of King's College student.
"Poetry is a pretty far off thing for most people, and the general view is you really only do it in (high school) English class. You learn about poets and that's about it."
Poetry has always been deeply meaningful for Bolduc, whose favourite poets include Sylvia Plath and T.S. Eliot.
Determined to share his appreciation for the art form with the world, he started his ‘The Poem Guy' Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/VoOcYQ) in mid-January. He also put an ad offering his services on the Halifax Kijiji buy and sell website.
His tongue in cheek ad reads, in part:
"Valentines day is in a relatively short amount of time, and we all know what that means- last minute trips to Lawton's for cards. Lots of fake flowers. Some heart shaped jewelry. A reservation at an expensive restaurant. A big bowl of ice cream and the Notebook on repeat," he writes.
"Crappy poetry written to an unrequited lover. A visit from Halifax's poet for hire- wait, what's that? You didn't think of hiring me to write a sonnet or love poem for the girl/guy/feline you adore/tolerate/ buy presents for this Valentine's day? Well, here I am. And I'm only one. single. loonie."
In less than three weeks he has received requests for 36 poems that range from offbeat to serious.
Some have asked him to write poems for birthday and anniversary gifts, while others have wanted poems about their cats, long distance relationships or, in one instance, domestic abuse.
"My first request was a lady working at a call centre who didn't like her job and wanted help getting through it," he said. "People want poems about their lives, topics that are meaningful to them. I find it really interesting and I just like to make people happy."
No one has expressed dissatisfaction with his work yet, and he figures for $1, people feel they have nothing to lose. An equal amount of time goes into each poem, which on average take 15 to 20 minutes to write. The longest he ever spent on a loonie poem was one hour.
"Poems are my babies. You nurture them, think about them, bring them about, put them on the page and bring them to life. I wouldn't shortchange that," he said.
"I'm taking the initiative to bring poetry back."
Requests can be sent to Bolduc via Facebook or email, jabolduc125@gmail.com .
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca
