LAX might not have a people mover, but it does have Brian who will write you a poem
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Set us as preferred On a Wednesday morning in Terminal 1 at LAX, traveler Nikki Hexum found herself in tears.Crying, on its face, is not an unusual occurrence at LAX.
The notorious airport is a tender spot for Angelenos and tourists.Nearby, a displeased lawyer squabbles about a case into his phone.
Flight attendants whisk by in pressed uniforms.A delay is announced over a speaker.Today, an unexpected brush with poetry brought Hexum to tears.
She was about to board a flight to Nashville, where she would discuss AI regulation at a film festival for her job, when she stumbled upon Brian Sonia-Wallace, the poet laureate of Los Angeles, sitting at a 1940s-model Underwood typewriter writing custom poems for passing travelers.As Hexum told him about her trip, he began to type, the clacking of the keys echoing through the terminal.
When he finished, he read the poem aloud.Hexum’s eyes began to well.
“I sat in something where there was discomfort, but at the end of it, it became something amazing,” Hexum says.The encounter affirmed something for Hexum: the importance of spontaneous human interactions in a world where communication is increasingly relegated to AI.
“I think we lost that ability to do that a lot,” she says as she wipes her eyes.Hexum was one of dozens of travelers who received a custom poem from Sonia-Wallace as they waited to board their flights.
Some were traveling to funerals, weddings and family reunions that the poet laureate commemorated in a poem written in minutes.Even flight attendants confided in Sonia-Wallace about their love of travel, which he honored in a poem.
Soon, a line of eager travelers began to form.“We had a couple of criers today,” says Sonia-Wallace.“There’s something about the typewriter and poetry that brings out the best in people.” On the table beside the typewriter,...