From BookRiot:
High school-me wanted to become a poet. So did college-me. Then a professor pointed out at one point that to become a poet, one accepts that very few people, and often nobody at all, will read your work. Poverty and a small audience were the burden of the genre. So, my poet days were over.
Which is ironic, because that decision in college did not actually make me reject poetry. In fact, in some ways, it made poetry more inviting, more delicious–the thing I read and wrote when the rest of the world’s expectations were put on hold. And now, sometimes, I want to hold down people and force them to read poetry.
. . . .
But then again, maybe my professor was wrong. Maybe in a traditionalist sense, yes, many chapbooks aren’t read. Most poets go into the world only to be read by other poets. What’s important here is to note that a rejection of online audiences by traditional poets maintains the isolation of poetry. It seems that 2016 was the year for online poetry access to crack open wide.
Link to the rest at BookRiot
Isn’t poetry one of the most monetised forms of media around at the moment?
Well, the parts of it that are rap, anyway.
Well, if one argues that songs (including pop and rap) are poetry, then one can certainly say poetry always was and continues to be wildly popular. (But then one might also argue that long form poetry evolved into prose fiction…)
But if you take a purer stance that “poetry” (or at least some poetry) is meant to be read, or spoken without music, then although songs have much in common, they are not quite the same.
Clearly it would seem that a more profitable strategy for those who are good with words would be to pursue song writing over straight poetry. And there are some terrific hip hop artists who pursue both effectively.
I’m not a huge fan of poetry, but actually it would seem like it should thrive on the internet. It’s the perfect short format for sharing on social media.
May I suggest to poets out there a digital strategy:
1. Write great poems (whatever that means) and post them on a blog.
2. Mix the shorter poems with some graphics or artwork and format them into a JPEG pic that looks good on Twitter and Facebook. Send those out one by one and then repeat. (In other words, you don’t have to make a new one every day, if you have twenty or so you can rotate them. Better if you have 50 or more.)
3. Read your poetry aloud on short videos and posts to You Tube.
4. How do you monetize? Collect the poetry into books and self-publish on Kindle. If you have enough of a fan base you might even be able to get paid for readings or set up Patreon fund me.
Back in the day… say pre-1990 poetry did seem like a doomed profession, but I think it could make a little comeback in the digital era.
it’s not a “comeback.”
it’s not print.
it’s performance.
performance poetry.
a.k.a. slam poetry or spoken word.
(to be more technical, slam is a
particular type of poetry contest.
but the word is often sloppily
extended to all performance work.)
it’s on the web, at youtube.
you’ll find the most stuff under
the buttonpoetry account.
-bowerbird
You’ve got to wade through a lot of stuff to find it, but there’s some serious talent out there; great new poetry, posted every day for all to enjoy. I love it.
My problem with most post modern poetry is that It just
Seems like a bunch of sentences, with Random line breaks in the
Middle. And then you have critics going on about The deep philosophical implications
Of the words used And what exactly line length symbolises.
Yeah, they can make bad puns look good.
.
Perhaps no person can be a poet, or even enjoy poetry without a certain unsoundness of mind. — Thomas Macaulay
Beware of the man who reads his own poetry in public for he may have other bad habits. — Lazarus Long
Not all men who drink are poets. Some of us drink because we aren’t poets.
When you meet a master swordsman, show him your sword. When you meet a man who is not a poet, do not show him your poem. — Rinzai, ninth century Zen master
No.
Title was a question so you win the internet even if you didn’t read past the title. 😉