During this month’s First Friday event in downtown Asheville, happening September 4, from 5–8 p.m., American Folk Art & Framing (AFA) will host Asheville’s own Eddie Cabbage, of Poetry On Demand. “Eddie Cabbage is a staple of the Asheville busking community and we’ve had the pleasure of hosting him in the gallery for our annual Miniatures Show opening for the past three years,” says Julia Mills, owner of AFA. “His talent for crafting a fabulous on-the-spot poem about any subject of your choosing is unmatched! We’re so pleased to be able to support one of our own as he rebuilds after Hurricane Helene.”
Eddie Cabbage, at his typewriter, and artist Liz Sullivan
Cabbage’s life was turned upside-down when Helene destroyed the home in Chimney Rock where he lived. In addition, he has had to deal with complicated family and legal matters involving his father’s estate. “I’m currently living out of my truck while I travel and work events,” he says. “The money I earn from Poetry On Demand helps pay for fuel, food, repairs, storage, travel and those legal expenses. I don’t particularly enjoy asking people for money. I’d much rather earn it by making something for them.”
He estimates that he has written more than 30,000 poems on his vintage manual typewriters since he began Poetry On Demand in 2013. “They have been about everything from marriages and birthdays to lost pets, fishing trips, family members, breakups and sometimes just three completely random words,” he says.
In this age of singular and mostly silent digital interactions, the sound of typewriter keys clacking and the bell ringing draw attention and peak curiosity in those who come across him at work. “We’re surrounded by technology that makes everything instant and disposable,” Cabbage says. “There’s something different about watching someone sit down at a machine that was built decades ago and create something by hand.” And, he adds, the appeal lies also in the personal nature of what he does. “People are watching me listen to them and turn their idea into something that belongs specifically to them.”
His own favorite poets include Walt Whitman, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. “I like poetry that feels lived in,” he says. “Poetry that comes from the road, from people and from actually being somewhere.”
Besides being temporary living quarters while he rebuilds his cabin, his truck also allows him to take Poetry On Demand on the road. He takes his personal poem-making to festivals, breweries, weddings, private parties, libraries and street corners.
He has also begun writing a personal account, titled Devastation Highway, of what he experienced and witnessed after the storm: from helping neighbors dig out their homes to writing poems for the 101st Airborne to documenting ongoing issues with relief efforts.
“After everything that’s happened,” Cabbage says, “I still have a typewriter, a stack of paper and a reason to keep putting them together.”
American Folk Art & Framing is located at 64 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit AmeriFolk.com or call 828.281.2134.
