PORTAGE PARK — An old-fashioned gumball machine that pumps out poems rather than Jawbreakers to raise money for arts projects will head south for the summer.
After nine months at Replica Chicago in Jefferson Park, the machine will spend the summer at Josi’s Frozen Yogurt Cafe in the Six Corners Shopping District, said Yvonne Zipter, whose poems at 50 cents each will raise money for Arts Alive Chicago, which funds public art projects, including more than two dozen murals in and around the 45th Ward.
Some poems reflect the lightheartedness of the season, singing the praises of bicycling with a loved one or watching a hummingbird hover by a flower, Zipter said.
Others present a more serious take on life, reflecting on the loss of a pet or dealing with a mastectomy. A sign on the machine labels the poems as appropriate for ages "12 to 112," to give parents of young children a warning about the subject matter.
"We believe that poetry can inspire discussion in all ages and across all kinds of families," Zipter said.
Heather Cherone says 100 poems were sold at Replica:
Barbara Murphy, who opened Josi's at 4032 N. Milwaukee Ave. more than a year ago, said it "sounded fun" to have the gumball machine in her store, which frequently hosts fundraisers and community events.
The poetry-vending machine is as much about building a sense of interconnectedness among residents as it is about raising money, Zipter said.
At Replica Chicago, the machine sold more than 100 poems, adding $50 to Arts Alive Chicago's bottom line, Zipter said.
“My 9-year-old daughter loved the poetry gumball machine,” said Kathy Ruhnke, of suburban Niles. “It was thrilling for her to put the coins in and receive the little containers. She made me give up all the quarters I had. ”
Zipter, a manuscript editor at the University of Chicago Press in Hyde Park, received the vending machine as a gift when she married her longtime partner Kathy Forde a year ago.
Zipter, who has published two poetry collections and two nonfiction books,said she was inspired by the effort spearheaded by Ald. John Arena to reverse decades of slow economic growth in Jefferson Park and Portage Park by transforming the area into an arts and culture mecca.
The poetry gumball machine will be at Josi's indefinitely, Zipter said.
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