DURHAM, N.C. | One week after publication, The Legend of Geyser Lake, a contemporary folk rhyme by North Carolina publisher and poet Jaiden Hordosillo, has accumulated more than 850,000 Recorded Reads through documented physical and digital distribution, suggesting that contemporary poetry may be reaching substantially larger audiences than conventional publishing often assumes.
Released on July 9, 2026, as a Broadmark; a bookmark and literary broadside publication hybrid created by Hordosillo, The Legend of Geyser Lake is a twenty-line modern folk rhyme that follows the story of a child whose impatience becomes the origin of a local legend. Written in the cadence of a traditional nursery rhyme, the poem explores how the same story can function as both a childhood cautionary tale and a darker meditation on loss for adult readers.
“The assumption is that single poems didn’t belong in distribution,” Hordosillo said. “That they should exist only as social media posts or inside larger collections. So I asked a different question: What happens if a single poem is distributed the way other forms of media are? Instead of relying on social media, the poem was released through a distribution model inspired by the historical broadside, using streaming platforms, digital display placement, public libraries, bookstores, and physical Broadmarks.”
Inspired by nearly two decades working as a script consultant across film, television, and music productions, Hordosillo developed a distribution model that treats poetry as a piece of media rather than simply a printed text. The Legend of Geyser Lake was designed to meet readers across multiple platforms instead of waiting for readers to discover it through traditional literary channels.
During its first week of release, the poem was published in English, Spanish, and Hindi, reaching readers across 977 geographic locations. The distribution campaign generated more than 1.5 million deliveries, resulting in 877,000 Recorded Reads with a 48% audience retention rate, demonstrating sustained engagement across multiple distribution channels rather than a single point of publication.
The reported readership was documented through Hordosillo’s Recorded Reads methodology, which combines verified website readership, digital distribution analytics, audiobook listening, and documented physical Broadmark circulation into a single audited readership figure.
“Every distributor I know has told me poetry doesn’t have an audience anymore,” Hordosillo said. “I don’t believe that’s the issue. I think poetry readers are there more than ever. The challenge isn’t finding readers. It’s that poetry is still being distributed as though readers are expected to come looking for it.”
The Legend of Geyser Lake is Hordosillo’s second Broadmark publication and continues his ongoing exploration of independent literary distribution through libraries, digital repositories, streaming platforms, and public spaces.
The publication has been archived using permanent scholarly identifiers, including Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), an ISBN, and registration through the Author’s Guild Human Authored program, with distribution records preserved as part of its public documentation.
The poem is available to read free of charge at:
https://www.hordosillo.com/thelegendofgeyserlake
