BY MICHELLE KEY
PUBLISHER
AUBURN — With a vintage typewriter, a listening ear and a gift for turning someone’s story into words, Tyler Elizabeth, the writer behind Love, Girl Tyler, is bringing a different kind of pop-up experience to the Auburn-Opelika community.
Elizabeth, originally from Destin, Florida, moved to Auburn in December 2025 following what she described as a major life transition. Poetry, however, has been part of her life much longer.
“Poetry has held me through life since I was 8 years old,” she said. “I self-published my first book in 2018 and wrote on the side for years while working as a full-time photographer.”
Last year, she began to feel that photography was becoming a closing chapter and that writing was calling her in a different direction.
“I had this overwhelming vision of wanting to use my gift of depth and writing to be in front of people in a more tangible way,” Elizabeth said. “To sit with them, hear their stories and offer true connection in this modern world.”
That vision became Love, Girl Tyler, a pop-up poetry experience in which she creates custom poems for people on the spot using a vintage typewriter.
The typewriter itself was a natural fit.
“I have always been an old soul and have had a typewriter for years, writing for myself and letters to friends on it,” she said. “When this vision came to me, setting up with my typewriter just felt natural. Also, I have awful handwriting.”
When someone approaches her for a poem, she said she begins by asking what they want captured.
“They share a season, a feeling, something they want captured, either for themselves or someone they love,” she said. “I sit with what they share and let it pour out of me.”
Elizabeth compared the process to something she loved as a child.
“When I was little, I wanted to be a rapper and loved freestyling, and this feels very much like that same thing.”
The poems can become deeply personal, and Elizabeth said the reactions are often emotional.
“Tears, always,” she said. “We don’t know what someone is going through or the season they are in, and poetry tends to bridge that gap.”
Elizabeth said some of the most meaningful moments for her come after someone has trusted her with something vulnerable.
“To have someone share something so vulnerable and then watch them read a poem that holds both their truth and a thread of hope, those are the moments that are the most special,” she said.
Love, Girl Tyler can be found at weddings, markets, coffee shops, showers, local businesses and community gatherings.
“Anywhere there is a meaningful connection happening in the community,” she said.
Weddings are an area she especially hopes to grow locally.
“Weddings are my biggest goal,” she said. “I find that typewritten poetry at weddings is so memorable, and I love offering a bespoke and intentional experience for guests.”
Most of her wedding bookings are still in Florida, but she said she hopes to build that part of the business in Auburn and Opelika while continuing to appear at local businesses and markets.
“My hope is also to continue to pop up at more small businesses and markets and meet the amazing humans that are here in Auburn and Opelika,” she said.
She said her move to Auburn has also brought some unexpected affection for her new surroundings.
“Truly, a mermaid has fallen in love with greenery and I love all of the historic buildings,” she said.
She said the welcome from the Auburn-Opelika community has made the transition easier.
“So openly and warmly,” Elizabeth said of the response she has received. “I did not know what to expect coming in as someone new, and this community has been one of the most encouraging parts of this season.”
Even the name Love, Girl Tyler reflects the personal nature of her work.
“It is simply how I would sign a letter: ‘Love, Tyler.’ But I added the ‘Girl’ because people often assume I am a boy, so it felt like a sweet way to say, ‘Hi, it is me.’”
For Elizabeth, the work ultimately comes back to creating something tangible from a brief but meaningful connection — a few minutes of conversation transformed into words someone can carry home.
