Johnny Vaughan, a human resources assistant at Winthrop University since 2017, is pursuing his own business in making customary poems for those who want to gift a poem for a special person in their life.
Vaughan’s passion for poetry originally stemmed from his love of rap music while he was attending Virginia Commonwealth University. Here, he found poetry classes that spiked his interest.
“I got into poetry through my love of rap. I believe rap music is poetry,” Vaughan said. “Back when I was in college, I used to write rap music in my leisure time, so from there, I took a few classes in college. I took a Black Poetry class, and from reading poems through that class, it made me want to write my own poetry.”
After spending so much of his spare time writing poetry for himself, Vaughan realized he could turn his talent into a business investment.
“I like to write poetry, I do all the time in my spare time, so I thought, ‘how could I make money off of this?’” Vaughan said. “So I tried to write a poem for one person a few years ago while I was in college, and I started to make money from that.
“I would write poems for my coworkers and my classmates who would then give them to somebody else. So I’ve been doing it on and off for a long time.”
Vaughan has had many satisfied responses from the customers for whom he has written poems. One of his customers, a friend of Vaughan’s, William Pitchford, was highly pleased with Vaughan’s work.
“He informed me of his poetry business, and he showed me some of his work. The poem was for an old friend,” Pitchford said. “The process was simple. He asked for specific things, which he added into the poem to make it stand out to the reader. The poem was well-written. We were both very pleased with the poem. The poem was about ‘a first meeting.’
“I would have another poem written by Mr. Vaughan in the future. I highly recommend his business to others.”
Vaughan has had some emotional reactions to the poems he has written for his customers.
“This one lady bought six poems from me once,” Vaughan said. “She bought them for her girlfriends; she said all her friends really loved the poems.
“And this one guy gave a poem to a female friend of his, and he said that she cried when she received it. So I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from my poems so far.”
Vaughan advises potential customers that personal details about the person you are having the poem written for will go a long way.
“Something heartfelt, or a shared experience, will go a long way in the poem,” Vaughan said. “I like to incorporate personal details in the poems because it’ll make them more genuine.”
Vaughan’s poems are $12 each. You can contact him via email at johnnymvaughan@gmail.com or visit his Etsy shop jvaughanpoemsllc, https://www.etsy.com/shop/jvaughanpoemsllc.
Here is a poem Vaughan has written:
“As everyday passes the desire in my heart grows stronger
A giant struggling in chains will be held captive no longer
I look into the face of difficulty with a heart that’s brave
I recognize the hustle and will never act as a slave
Challenges come and go like the people in your life
I stand strong and will never be a victim of strife
Nothing comes easy and the hustle is real
I hug the hustle and its heartbeat is what I feel
The hustle is my friend and it pumps blood through my veins
The hustle is my enemy and it aims to make me insane
I am a soldier that will win the war and passionately kiss my goals on the lips
I am an eternal lover that will fight the pain just to caress my goal on the hips
From sunrise to sunset I will forever breathe the hustle”
-Johnny Vaughan
