Wisconsin Life

[typewriter cylinder "scritches"] [guiding to starting position] [clicking keys, carriage return] - Angela Fitzgerald: 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.

[clears throat, rips paper out of typewriter carriage] 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.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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.

[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."

- 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 non-expert conclusion about herself.

- Every single time I write a poem for someone who's asking for something, there's always a chance I'm going to fail.

There's always a chance they're not going to 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 considered myself an expert writer.

I also don't think I'm done learning.

And so, in that way, I am very much an amateur.

[keys clicking] [carriage return]