Poetry in Motion

With a contemporary take on a traditional Japanese poetic form, creative writers delight wedding guests with a unique memento.

Presented by

Haikuists co-founders Daniel Zaltsman and Erick Szentmiklosy

Meet Erick Szentmiklosy and Daniel Zaltsman—two men who didn’t consider themselves poets by any means. In fact, Erick flunked poetry class in high school because he thought it was boring. Daniel preferred reading Russian literature and playing chess, and had no idea that poetry would ever come naturally to him.

Yet these best friends stumbled upon an unexpected way to connect with others: writing haikus at special events. They founded Haikuists and formed a network of poets—130 of them at last count, spread across 30 U.S. cities—who interact with event guests and create timeless mementos of the celebration.

It started by complete accident 11 years ago on a Brooklyn street corner. In an attempt to meet New York City’s self-starters and entrepreneurs, Erick and Daniel set up their Free Haiku stand and began to engage passersby on the sidewalk. They booked their first event right there.

The concept is both simple and ingenious. The Free Haiku stand includes two sharply dressed poets with vintage, manual typewriters. They listen to each guest, in a one-on-one conversation, tell stories about their life. Then within three minutes they write a unique haiku—an ancient Japanese poem with three lines containing five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. Guests get to take their bespoke poem home with them, much to their delight.

a true connection:
yours is worth celebrating
for two whole lifetimes
– Jessica O’Brien

“Haiku is a framework that allows us to truly collaborate with each guest,” says Erick. Dan adds: “The haiku is written in a way that speaks to them—a symbol for guests that their story is worthy of being turned into a small but mighty work of art.”

The team is flattered to learn what haiku recipients do with their poems after leaving the event. They often hear “This is going right on the fridge when I get home!” or “I can’t wait to frame this!” During Haikusists’ first year of business, a couple got matching tattoos of their haiku, which was about how they met. Since then, Haikuists has averaged about one tattoo of their haiku per year by event guests.

While Haikuists is hired for a variety of events—networking mixers, brand activations, birthday parties, gala fundraisers, company conferences and music festivals, to name a few—the poets absolutely love presenting their work at weddings.

“It’s truly delightful to connect with the engaged couple during an earlier stage of their planning, to hear about their love story, their vision and what they hope to experience on their big day,” says director of sales Leah Clancy, who happens to hold a master’s degree in creative writing from CalArts. “They share so much about their hopes and dreams, and it becomes an authentic connection that grows throughout the planning process.”

The event’s poets get the chance to bond with the guests and gain insight into how special the newlyweds are to everyone in attendance. Then, when the couple finally receives their own tandem, one-of-a-kind haiku to capture the thrill of the wedding day (like the one above), it’s an incredibly emotional experience for everyone there. “We’re so grateful to be included in such a momentous occasion in their lives,” Leah shares.

Show your wedding guests how much their presence means to you with the magic of Haikuists’ customized poetry.