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On escaping wage-slavery...
Greetings. I regret that it took me so long to discover your blogs, but such is the nature of the beast. Only 24 hours in a day.
For what it's worth, I'll pass along some extremely hard-won advice. As a fulltime writer/editor/publisher about to celebrate my 20th year of publication, I can say that it is impossible to make a living from poetry.
Now, now--relax. Really. Even the most famous, bestselling poets (such as Marilyn Hacker, John Yau, etc.) aren't able to sustain themselves--financially, at least--solely from poetry. You need to expand into short-stories, and, most importantly, into novel-length work, in order to make a living as a writer.
Hard facts, I know.
It's awful that very few people read poetry--it's been this way always. Our "education" system is mostly to blame, forcing kids to read very difficult material before they're ready. Plus, the rocket-sled pace of modern media makes it worse.
Finally, I urge you to follow your heart, and to keep writing poetry. Poetry is, in my mind, anyway, the highest form of artistic expression--distilling, like grapes to wine, the essence of our lonely existence on this grim world.
I wish you only the best.
posted by
UntoldOne
on December 22, 2003 at 4:43 PM
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