ABOUT ME, authentically

by Shae Shaw

It has taken me 12,266 days to figure out how to write this “About Me” authentically…

I’m a life saver.

I can say that because I’ve saved my own life. The real story begins when I realized I was a Survivor, and began to process emotions through journaling and poetry. Handwritten words are a form of open heart surgery; mine gave life to the book, “Hello, Don’t Kill Yourself.” I am here to weave words of love and intention into the fabric of our world to make it a better place to be.

Poetry is my ministry. Connection is my currency.

So, if I as a “worst case scenario” can come out on the other side of treatment-resistant depression and rescue myself from the hell of religion intended ‘scare me straight’ - I MUST TELL THE STORY or it would be an injustice to my inner child, gaybabyshae. To know me today is to recognize I’ve been to a thousand funerals for all the versions of SHAE that tried to save me from an emotionally disregulated upbringing.

My ‘WHY’ is authentic connections.

Before I had ever touched a typewriter, I found the theatre and a joy for creating authentic connections with the audience from the stage. I didn’t realize the performative aspects had bled over into my everyday life: living according to other’s expectations of me, “being good,” following the rules, and excelling in emotional intelligence games from an early age. To discover as an adult that true power and peace comes from the same inner knowing you were instructed to destroy is WILD, y’all.

MY MISSION is doing justice to the soul’s thumbprint.

Being a heart-led Poet and Artist isn’t about the performance - it’s about PRESENCE on full display. As The Party Poet, I merge my BFA in Acting (Magna Cum Laude, TCU) with improvisational skill and soul-level intuition to create custom poetry on the spot via vintage typewriters. From luxury weddings to galas, milestone events, conferences, retreats, memorials, funerals, and all celebrations of life - having The Party Poet there for guest entertainment is perhaps the only custom party favor that can bring your guests to happy tears. The best part is when I ask the guest if they’d like to be surprised or not - and then, I wrap the poem into a scroll, theirs to open “when the time is right.” This is presence, embodied. A soul-mirror in your hands, and magical experience you’ve never had before.

I believe magic is real.

Growing up, there was no Santa. No Halloween. (Think about that for a Theatre kid!) And - I have aphantasia (no visual imagination/mind’s eye.) So, I created the magic I always needed with a 52-card magic trick that sits on my table. You pick a card, which has the name of an original poem typewritten on the back. You tell me the poem you’ve chosen, and I recite the poem. Somehow, it’s always the one you were meant to hear.

Aligned is the new productive.

A small scroll can hold big truths. Custom poetry is art as a time capsule, and a tool for transformation. And the result is always words like medicine. Thank you for being on this journey with me, and caring enough to read all the way through.

I’d love to honor you, your family, business, pet, future self, and everything else.

Just say hello to hello@partypoet.love

Love,

Shae Shaw

Sign up to receive (rare) emails & stay in the Shae Shaw loop!