I met Haley Clancy as she was doing what she loves: writing impromptu poetry for strangers. I asked her to create a poem for me written on the typewriter in her lap. She was sitting on a stool on the asphalt, resting her feet on the typewriter’s case. I told her a little about myself as she typed out a poem for me on a little brown card, asking friendly questions and responding enthusiastically to all I said. When she finished typing, she signed the card, read me my new custom poem, and took my picture. I was instantly astonished by her ability to write poetry on the spot, all while genuinely listening to and connecting with me.

About a week later, I was assigned to create an audio profile of a local Pittsburgh stranger in my Intro to Audio Storytelling class, and I knew I had to talk to Haley. I went into our first interview expecting to uncover how she writes poetry seemingly effortlessly, but I quickly became enamored by her as a person and her motivations for doing what she loves. Haley is constantly listening to other people and finding ways to tell their stories, so I wanted to honor her story with this profile and shed some light on what I believe makes her extraordinary.