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Poetry’s Conundrum
Who reads poetry?
There was a post on X not long ago that prompted this article:
It started a thread about who poetry is written for and who reads poetry. And, possibly, how to get more folks to partake.
I’ve written a bit of poetry. I’ve even sold a few pieces, though none have been published in a book that contains only poetry. But outside of other poetry writers, I don’t personally know of anyone who has purchased a book of pure poetry. Perhaps you do, but it doesn’t negate the fact that prose is far more popular than poetry. And by a lot. And many prefer to watch a story displayed on a screen over reading anything.
About two years ago, I was having a conversation with a person about how difficult it can be to make a living writing only poetry. They seemed indignant when I told them I didn’t know anyone other than a poet who had purchased a book of poetry. While it’s true that part of this may be that I don’t know a lot of people, I would think I’d have heard of at least one. I know lots of people in that tiny pool of humanity who have purchased vast quantities of prose. This person protested (loudly) that they would indeed be willing to buy one.
