The Unstoppable Poet | Boss Mode Podcast Ep. 24She went to Home Depot with $20, built a table, sat on a street corner in Brooklyn, and wrote poems for strangers. No platform. No followers. No money. Today Shana Roark — aka Supergirl Reject — has 75,000 Instagram followers and a full-time career doing exactly what she loves. In this episode, David sits down with Shana to talk about poetry on demand, writing as thinking, the epidemic of loneliness, why truth matters more than ever in the age of AI, and why the next great software developers might actually be writers.---CHAPTERS

**00:44** — The origin story: loneliness in a city of 8M ppl**02:14** — $20 at Home Depot, a sign, and a street corner in Brooklyn**02:51** — Going from live street art to Instagram**03:35** — Vapid conversations & why Shana turned to poetry to go deeper**04:22** — Why poetry is the perfect art form for a world that moves too fast**04:43** — People's darkest secrets, on the street, to a stranger**05:47** — The loneliness epidemic — and why in-person human connection matters more now**06:48** — "I want to use poetry to make people feel less alone"**07:32** — Unpacking the name: what does Supergirl Reject actually mean?**09:42** — Rejection, street art, and embracing the underdog**11:54** — Poetry on demand**12:35** — The Harry Mack comparison**13:45** — Broad topics vs. deeply personal stories**15:07** — When the words just come to you**15:50** — Taking it seriously: 20-30 minutes per poem, every word deliberate**17:15** — Why poetry has been lost — and why it shouldn't be**18:24** — The typewriter: no delete key, full commitment, every keystroke permanent**19:15** — How a $30 garage sale typewriter changed everything**20:30** — Learning to write the poem in your mind before touching the keys**21:25** — The feedback loop: pain, regret & the hour of review that makes her better**22:33** — You can only be fully creative for 2-3 hours a day**23:40** — The word "hemlock" and the poem she's most proud of**24:39** — Writing as thinking: David's take from inside the AI world**25:06** — Why humans must not relinquish writing to AI**26:50** — Creativity will be replaced by AI?**27:27** — To be human is to create creation**29:33** — Shana's two-part framework**30:41** — The empathy process**32:30** — Reading poetry like a painter studies color**34:30** — Andy Warhol on art and audience**35:20** — Honesty as the core of great writing**36:40** — Making time to create**37:13** — How AI can be a thought partner for early writers (without doing the work for them)**38:40** — What large language models actually are**40:00** — The pilot, the runway & why AI hallucination is catastrophic in mission-critical moments**41:30** — Why mastery of language is the most important skill in the age of AI**42:19** — Putting AI to work vs. having AI put you to work**44:18** — The bifurcated society: the consumption class vs. the creation class**46:27** — Edge farming, $70 strawberries in Tokyo & why food costs are heading to zero**50:00** — The deflationary future**51:30** — Block's 4,000 layoffs, Amazon & the end of traditional employment**53:00** — From the consumption class to the creation class**54:30** — Why the best vibe coders of the future will be writers and lawyers**56:28** — Shana's reaction**56:51** — What happens to US government revenue when millions lose their jobs?**57:30** — The self-employment economy**58:29** — The last thousand-person company has already been created**59:23** — Closing thoughts & come find Supergirl Reject on a street corner in NYC---🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on AI, entrepreneurship & the post-employment economy.Follow us:🐦 David: @davidyhlee🐦 Shana: @supergirlreject & https://www.shanaroark.com🐦 Vanka AI: @vanka.ai & https://www.vanka.ai