Sarasota Poet Nora Jane Long Brings Improvised Typewriter Poetry to Events, Markets, and Gatherings Throughout the Region

There’s something that stops people in their tracks when they see it: a vintage typewriter, a blank page, and a poet listening intently before her fingers begin to move. That’s the experience Nora Jane Long brings to markets, weddings, festivals, and gatherings throughout the Sarasota and Bradenton area as The Live Poet. 

Long creates custom, improvised poems based on a story, memory, or prompt shared by the person sitting across from her. The process takes just a few minutes. The result is a handcrafted, entirely personal poem that’s theirs to keep forever. 

“After a decade of creating through, around, and behind screens, I was craving a return to the analog, to make something real,” says Long, who launched The Live Poet after a cross-country road trip with her 1964 Remington. “Live poetry gives people a moment to slow down, be truly listened to, and leave with something singular, something that captures how a moment actually felt, not just how it looked.” 

A lifelong writer who has been crafting poems and stories since childhood, Long brings deep literary roots to her live practice. She is also an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker whose work has aired on PBS and Good Morning America, and a professor of film and television production. 

Her visual art practice (paintings and mixed media works currently on view at Creative Liberties in Sarasota’s Limelight District) shares the same DNA as her poetry: layered, image-driven, and rooted in the tension between nature and memory. Across mediums, language and image inform one another, each made richer by the presence of the other. 

Long is a regular presence at the Sarasota Farmers Market and has recently been featured on Suncoast View. She is available for weddings, private celebrations, corporate events, fundraisers, gatherings, and festivals throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties. 

In addition to live event poetry, The Live Poet offers commissioned pieces for milestone occasions and creative workshops for schools, community groups, and private gatherings. Her poetry collection, How to Take a Picture, is also available through her website. 

For bookings, commissions, or more information, visit thelivepoet.com, follow along at @thelivepoet, or reach out directly at norajanelong@gmail.com.