ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Giovanni Cerro started writing poetry when he was a little kid, creating lovely, loving verse for friends and family.
When life took him down a corporate road, including a stint at Tesla, this 36-year-old St. Petersburg man realized his childhood passion was actually a lifetime passion.
So he started Gio's Typos, a wandering "poet-for-hire" gig where he fast-types poetry for strangers.
Using the back of old maps as paper, he hammers out a poem on an old Hermes 3000 typewriter in just a few minutes.
It's a full-time job.
"I'm not writing poems as much as I'm writing permission slips for people to feel their feelings again," Cerro said while setting up at Black Crow Coffee in St. Pete's Grand Central District. "I'm having fun with writing, and I'm also giving them an emotional experience."
When he's not hired out for corporate gigs and events, he works for tips and donations at markets and coffee shops. You can also order a poem online.
However you connect, Cerro has empathy and understanding to spare, his true gift being a connection for one and all.
"So you pick a topic or a phrase, or you tell me a story that you want a poem about," he said. "And I create a safe space for people to say whatever they want, no judgment."
Cerro creates analog thrills in a digital world.
To find out where Gio's Typos will set up next, click here.
