[typewriter cylinder "scritches"]
[guiding to starting position]
[clicking keys, carriage return]
- Angela: Good writing is all about watching.
Just ask Anja Notanja Sieger.
- Anja Notanja Sieger: Listening.
Writing is listening, if you do it well.
[clicking typewriter keys]
- Angela: Oh, we should start over then.
[Angela clears throat, paper rips from typewriter]
Good writing is all about listening.
- Anja: Listening not only for what they need to hear,
but also just listening to what they're saying.
- Angela: It's about zeroing in
and reflecting on what's around you.
- Anja: People need to hear what they are thinking
mirrored back to them,
and too often, people aren't getting that.
But I don't really know what I'm talking about.
[chuckles]
- Angela: Right...
Okay then, let's try this once more.
[advancing paper in typewriter]
[carriage return]
Introducing Anja.
She's been writing stories since she could draw.
- I've always was just one of those kids that...
would draw a picture,
and the picture would have a story.
And so, even before I could write, I'd be like,
"Mom, Mom, write down this story!
This is, this is what this is about."
And that's just how I've always been.
- Later, drawing would segue into typing,
lots of typing.
[playful piano and strings]
[end-of-line ding]
Anja creates poetry on the spot,
setting up a typewriter
at festivals, fairs, and craft shows around Wisconsin,
and charging a fee
to write personalized poems or stories.
- Anja: I generally give people
a very thorough interview process
where I want to know...
what they need to hear right now
or who is it going to and why?
And why does that person make them a better person?
Or how is their dog different from all other dogs?
You know, I get in there with people.
- One of her first poems
featured a dash of romance
and a whole lot of awkwardness.
[playful brass instruments]
- A guitar player, who was a busker,
came up to me,
and he wanted a love poem.
And I think he was hitting on me,
but I wrote him one because I needed the money. [laughs]
[typing]
- For others, a dash of romance might shift to love.
- I remember this one couple;
they wanted me to write their marriage vows.
So, I did.
And then, I put it in an envelope.
And then, they're like, "Seal it.
"We don't want to see it.
We want it to be a surprise during the wedding ceremony."
And I was just like, "Okay, all right, enjoy!
It'll be very entertaining." [snickers]
- While entertaining,
there is pressure involved.
- Yeah, no, there's no delete key.
But in this day and age,
that's magic
because we have Photoshop,
we have Artificial Intelligence,
but here I am
giving you an authentic artifact.
Perhaps there will be some flaws,
just like I am flawed, and you are flawed,
and it's okay.
It's interesting.
- It's helping people articulate those flaws
that brings Anja the most satisfaction.
- I feel like I'm doing a good thing
when I'm writing for people
who are going through a difficult time
or struggling with anxiety.
I mean, a lot of times,
I'm stepping into a role
that, like, therapists offer,
but I am an artist, and so,
I'm giving them therapeutic art, and that feels good.
- Anja, although an expert writer,
has come to a somewhat nonexpert conclusion
about herself.
- Anja: Every single time I write a poem for someone
who's asking for something,
there's always a chance I'm gonna fail.
There's always a chance
they're not gonna like what I write.
There's always a risk.
And I think
there's something kind of wonderful about that
because I get to feel like I'm forever...
an amateur.
- Or maybe she's an expert at humility, as well.
- Even though I consider myself an expert writer,
I also don't think I'm done learning.
And so, in that way, I am very much an amateur.
[clicking keys]
[carriage return]