Sophie Procter is an Auckland-based poet. You might’ve seen her on National Poetry Day tapping out typewriter poems for strangers or chalking lines onto footpaths. She had a Phantom Billstickers poem poster in 2021, selected among hundreds of entries from previously unpublished poets, and has her own zine, “Old Dog New Tricks.” We caught up with Sophie to talk about writing in the wild, finding her voice, and what she’s dreaming up next.
Tell us about your journey into poetry. When did you start writing, and what drew you to it?
Poetry was always around when I was a child, my parents (both teachers) shared and read poetry to me. The first poems that were read to me were most likely by A.A. Milne (Now We Are Six and Winnie-the-Pooh), I remember I had illustrated Pooh quotes framed on my bedroom walls.
Binker by A.A. Milne was my first favourite poem and is still a fave to this day:
“Binker—what I call him—is a secret of my own,
And Binker is the reason why I never feel alone.
Playing in the nursery, sitting on the stair,
Whatever I am busy at, Binker will be there…”
I remember the first proper poem I wrote (at about age 6/7) got some attention and I liked how that felt – realising that maybe this thing I loved that other people did was something I could also do. The poem was a rather lovely and very visual piece of verse about Fiji – I’ve still never been!
Another core memory is going into Dad’s study and looking through his books – the feeling of leather and the smell of the pages. I would “read” them with varying levels of comprehension.
It’s how I discovered and became a little obsessed with Siegfried Sassoon and John Masefield – weird choices for an 8-year-old girl – but there was something about what they were saying and how they were saying it that moved me. Especially the first line of Sea-Fever by Masefield: I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky…
I think these discoveries sparked the realisation that words can speak to you from anywhere and anytime.
I was also obsessed with films when I was young thanks to my older siblings, and I watched Dead Poet’s Society for the first time at about 10/11. That’s where I discovered Walt “Uncle Walt” Whitman and was astounded that an old man from over 100 years ago was writing this insanely beautiful poetry that conveyed the very things I was thinking and feeling at the turn of the new millennium! (It was a few years before I’d discover Sappho haha!)
I think that’s what planted the seed of the belief I still hold: that words, storytelling, but particularly poetry is this magical thread humans have shared as a connection through time.
You’ve become a familiar face on National Poetry Day with Typewriter Poetry and Chalk Poetry. What inspired you to use these formats? What’s it like creating poetry on the spot?
I was first asked to be a “Typewriter Poet” for an event run by SPLICE (an Auckland Lifewise initiative). It was a rather scary proposition – the idea of making up poems for people on the spot, but as soon as I did it that first time I was hooked!
I discovered that the brain and imagination work quite differently under pressure and I was able to come up with things for people I’d never even considered writing about before. I was gifted my first typewriter (I now have three, it’s a gateway) by my sister for Christmas and have continued to do both paid and free events. Connecting with such a variety of people from all over is the best part of it.
Chalk poetry was an idea I stole from my old alum at Poetry Live!*. I love the impermanence of it and how easy it is for people to get involved. Not everyone loves it – a grumpy store owner told me it looked like trashy tagging one year. I guess one person’s graffiti is another person’s poetry.
*Poetry Live! is NZ’s longest running poetry open mic (over 40 years). I was an MC from 2017-2023
You must have some stories from doing those events. Could you share a moment - a stranger’s reaction, or a time you wrote something that sticks with you?
People are so drawn to the typewriter, either because they (or their mum) used to use one or because they are a kid who’s never seen one before. And it is always their mum that worked in an area where they used a typewriter - which is one of the reasons I love using it, subverting that hetero-normative idea we have of this object (the idea of “women’s work” but “men’s creativity” - the secretary vs the novelist).
I also love the tangibility of this kind of creation, how instantly it’s on the page and can’t be changed (no delete button on a typewriter) – small mistakes become part of the art which is a philosophy that guides me. (Perfection is death!)
Poem requests always vary (in such a fabulous way) and I’ve had some doozies: a young boy at one event asked if I could write a poem about religion – we compromised on one about soccer instead (although I definitely know less about soccer than I do about religion), a lady at another event asked for one about the history of Iraq!
Most of the time though, people want poems about love or for loved ones and that’s always special – when I capture what they want having never met the person the poem is about/for. I’ve made many recipients cry, shared hugs and hard moments with people. I’ve also made people laugh – a stand-out love poem I wrote was based on an inside joke one couple had about velcro (see pic).
I also now have a fan club at the Auckland Central Library who have come back each year to see me which is pretty rad.
You have your own poetry zine “Old Dog New Tricks.” Can you tell us about that?
I think every artist understands the tug of war between the passion for creation and the need to pay rent – and figuring out how to do both. I realised that if I want to get serious about my own writing, I need to push myself to create something regularly which is where the zine was born.
I share it for free and as I work at The University of Auckland I disperse it around the campus – I’ve had some great reactions from students.
For me, it all comes down to sharing and spreading poetry as far and wide as possible. Getting it into the hands and minds of as many people as possible. I feel privileged to be a part of continuing that magic thread of connection – whether 1000s of people see my work or none at all.
“I exist as I am—that is enough;
If no other in the world be aware, I sit content;
And if each and all be aware, I sit content…”
– Uncle Walt, Song of Myself
Tell us your top five writers you love to read.
Marilyn French
I’ve read The Women’s Room about 100 times and believe every person should (at least once). I never get over how perfectly she talks about the experience of being a woman, how each character is like a friend who I feel a happy obligation to revisit every year – I honestly miss them. I was only 17 when I first read it and hated the ending…. Now, as a 38-year-old, I understand where Mira ends up completely – isn’t that a wonderful thing about books?
Kurt Vonnegut
The kind of writer I dream to be with that freedom and depth of imagination. Such a beautifully vivid writer and funny - a tricky combination he artfully pulls off every time. It’s SO hard to pick a favourite; I adored Slaughterhouse 5, and Breakfast of Champions, and Cat’s Cradle seems apt for our current times.
Patricia Cornwell
My absolute number one beach/holiday go to author! Dr Scarpetta and co also feel like old friends at this point. I love that I’ve never managed to read any of them in the right order, which luckily doesn’t really matter as each book is its own great stand-alone mystery – how Netflix or someone else haven’t got their hands on her work I don’t know!
Stephen King / Richard Bachman (the non-sci-fi stuff)
My favourite movie of all time is Stand By Me which is based on The Body, a part of the novella collection Different Seasons – an essential read, especially for any film buff as it also contains The Poster of Rita Hayworth (aka The Shawshank Redemption) and Apt Pupil. I recently read The Bachman Books, and I can’t bring myself to see the new movie The Long Walk because of the profound effect that story had on me. King is a definite member of the GOAT club, there’s no denying it.
Uncle Walt (Walt Whitman)
Beautiful brilliance and genius in both long (Song of Myself is pages long!) and short form like this four-line fabulousness:
“O YOU whom I often and silently come where you are, that I may be
with you;
As I walk by your side, or sit near, or remain in the same room with
you,
Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is
playing within me.”
What’s one of your favourite quotes (or line of poetry)?
I use the words: Like air I’ll rise in my poem Colours of Me. In my opinion this line is one of the greatest set of words ever put together (move over ‘cellar door’), thank you Maya Angelou.
“… and still, like air, I’ll rise.”
My favourite quote about poetry is from Brian Turner who I was lucky enough to meet at a young writer’s festival when I was a teenager:
“Poetry is the ordinary that sounds extraordinary.”
And of course:
“Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” (Uncle Walt again)
What are you looking forward to right now?
As I’ve been so verbose in my other answers, I’m simply going to say, Summer!
The smell of suntan lotion, the taste of strawberries and pineapple Frujus, the feeling of grass and sand between my toes, and having so many more hours in the day to read outside in the sun.
Mary thanks to Sophie for sharing her words with us. You can follow her on Instagram @sp_thepoet for more of her poetry.
Here are two of her poems, “Colours of Me” and “Shallow Waters”.
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