by Carolee Sherwood
This poll dance is a little different. Think “group hug,” if you can. Or if you’re like me and a little bit leery of such displays of affection, imagine a mosh pit instead. However you see it, gather ’round. Come in close.
What would you like to know about your fellow Read Write Poem-ers? It can be personal. (I hope some of it’s personal.) It can be strictly business (poetry business, of course). You can inquire about writing practice, private lives, the state of poetry in our communities, reading habits, aspirations. Anything.
This is your chance to propose future “Read Write Polls” and suggest what some of the multiple choice answers may be. Use the comments section of this post to tell us your ideas, and let’s try (try!) not to answer the questions of our poet pals here. Let’s try (I know it will be hard!) to save the answers for upcoming poll dance discussions.
Here’s how the poll dance (usually) works: We post a poll and let it ride for a week and a half or so, and then I’ll talk a little bit about the topic and the results. The poll will stand for a few days after that to allow additional participation. The rotation gives each poll two weeks — or so — in the white-hot spotlight.
I’d like to know when & how people first found poetry, what was the first poetry that moved them, & how they respond to that poetry now. (Is that too many questions for one poll? Probably so.)
those are great suggestions, dale. and don’t worry about it being too many for a single poll. i happen to know all the magic elves at RWP and have faith we (i mean “they”) can make it work.
I want to know how a poem first sparks in you. Is it more visual, or auditory? Or more a feeling? I also want to know what techniques you use for coping when you are ready to pull your hair out over a line or a stanza that you just can’t get right.
How do poet$ make money?
kristen — oh, i love thinking about that. that would make a great discussion. thank you.
and philip — i assume you mean “how to do poets make money” OUTSIDE of poetry.
or perhaps there are some get-rich-quick poetry schemes out there but someone’s keeping them secret?
I’m with Philip! That’s the question I always want to ask poets, living or dead.
There seems to be this prevailing myth of poetry as a viable occupation — contributor’s notes (mine included) tend to keep the information about the day job on the down-low, and the existence of poetry MFAs seems to suggest, tantalizingly, the possibility of a career as a poet (when really, your best shot with an MFA seems to be… to get a job teaching in an MFA program).
We know it’s not actually possible to earn a living at this activity we love, so how do other poets keep a roof over their head, food on the table? The intersection of vocation and avocation. What relationship, if any, does your “paying the bills” job have to poetry?
There’s that demoralizing sense (in the US, anyway) that if you’re not earning enough at a particular pursuit to support yourself, that pursuit must be merely a “hobby.” How do you deal with that, when even the Poet Laureate has to work a day job?
Here’s a poll: “Which of these acts of violence would you commit against someone who referred to your poetry as a hobby? [Check all that apply]” Oh, imagine the list of response options!
To offer a slightly less cantankerous question… I’d love to hear about other poets’ poetry reading habits. How are you hearing about your favorite poets? Where do you read poetry — do you buy collections, anthologies, print journals; are you reading online journals? Where are you primarily getting your poetry fix? What role does reading play in your writing life?
durable pigments: my middle name is “cantankerous.”
it’s one of the only ways i know to have fun. (but i like your other suggestions about poets’ reading habits, as well.)
thank you!
[...] Watch for our upcoming poll inspired by Read Write Poem a participant who left a suggestion at our last poll dance (What would you like to know?). [...]