DURHAM, N.C. — Poet Chris Vitiello is helping people safely express themselves during the pandemic through his passion project, "The Cabinet."
Vitiello, aka "The Poetry Fox," built "The Cabinet" during 2020 as a passion project
He sets up the 7-foot wardrobe at events and writes poetry for visitors on the spot for free
He prompts people with a question and writes them a unique poem while sitting inside
Vitiello is also known as "The Poetry Fox." He says the motivation of "The Cabinet" is to give people a new way to feel connected.
"I think people are really needing poetic language," Vitiello said. "This is just a total curveball ... a poem out of a cabinet, out of the blue. It's like talking to a bartender, where suddenly you find yourself vulnerable and opening up and I'm hoping it's that kind of a situation for people."
He says the idea for the wardrobe lived inside his notebook for years, then he actually got the chance to build it during the pandemic.
From his car, Vitiello takes out and fits dozens of different wooden pieces together to form the 7-foot mahogany wardrobe. Once it's put together, people passing by can fill out a card, drop it in a slot and receive a unique poem within minutes.
Vitiello sits inside the cabinet and types out each poem using his Royal typewriter. He can never see who is submitting what and says the cabinet serves as an anonymous confessional.
"The other influence is, of course, fortune teller cabinets, which are just too much fun," Vitiello said."The other influence is, of course, fortune teller cabinets, which are just too much fun," Vitiello said. "You put something in a fortune teller cabinet, and it spits out a fortune for you. And that's basically what this cabinet does.”
Vitiello says his project can be "The Cabinet of Fears" or "The Cabinet of Wishes" and other things, depending on the kind of event he is performing at.
"When I was doing the wish cabinet, and people were putting their wishes in there ... I've gotten a few wishes for people who were very ill, of course in the COVID times. There were people who were wishing for a parent or a spouse to be well, to get better, and those are kind of heart-breaking. And you feel like you are doing something important from inside this thing," Vitiello said.
During the pandemic, Vitiello says many have experienced personal and professional hardships. He hopes those looking for healing, peace or just a smile can find it through his poems.
"I can hear in a silence or a chuckle, or in a 'hey come on!' outside, 'The Cabinet' that the poem hit them in some way and they had a reaction to it, so that's really satisfying when I get a reaction from somebody," Vitiello said.
