It's a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
A great many people seem to think writing poetry is worthwhile, even though it pays next to nothing and is not as widely read as it should be.
You don't become a poet if you want to make any money.
I'm quite sure that most writers would sustain real poetry if they could, but it takes devotion and talent.
Most people who write and publish poetry teach or do something else.
On a practical level, poetry isn't something anybody has really made a great living at. I might sell some books and, once in a while, someone might pay to hear me read.
Poetry isn't a profession, it's a way of life. It's an empty basket; you put your life into it and make something out of that.
As things are, and as fundamentally they must always be, poetry is not a career, but a mug's game. No honest poet can ever feel quite sure of the permanent value of what he has written: He may have wasted his time and messed up his life for nothing.
To be a poet is a condition rather than a profession.
Artists usually don't make all that much money, and they often keep their artistic hobby despite the money rather than due to it.
Anybody serious about poetry knows how hard it is to achieve anything worthwhile in it.
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