[SBA]

Is it possible to earn a living off poetry ?

[ChihuahuaMomma]

Perhaps if you write a very successful poetry book. Or teach a poetry class at a school or college.

[Tralyn]

That's what I would say too. Some places will pay you for your poetry, small, menial amounts to put on their merchandise, but you'll never ever receive a royalty payment from their marketing efforts. In short, you lose the right to your poem and the whole world gains access to it.

If you want to look into publishing you can buy specific books on publishing poetry in book stores, they are new and updated every year. They break down for you who accepts new artists and who does not, they run between 20 - 30 bucks. I think it's called Poet's Market or Poetry Market - guide to Publishing, something like that.

Otherwise, a venture I too have considered at times.. greeting cards! There are ways to put your talent to use. In the mean time, share with us - I'd love to read some of your poems.

[vingogly]

Don't quit your day job. Following's based on my experiences in the USA. Well-known (literary) poets usually make a living as professors at colleges and universities. William Carlos Williams was a successful pediatrician. Robert Lowell was born to New England wealth. I don't know of any serious contemporary poet who's making a living at it. Literary poetry is not popular here in the USA, and my guess is that a well-selling volume by one of the best may sell a few thousand copies at most.

There have always been of course "popular" poets like Rod McKuen, Ogden Nash, and all those other non-academic poets whose doggerel fills the poetry shelves at the major chains (and they've always been around: you can usually recognize anthologies of their work because the titles include the word "favorite"). Some of them have made more or less comfortable livings at their craft. A friend down South made a marginal living writing greeting card verse so Tralyn is right: if you want to make money at it, stay away from the literary stuff. Go for greeting cards or books of verse for children.

And if you are ambitious and talented enough to strive for art, find some other way to make a living. You won't make it writing verse, even if you're very very good.

[Clough]

In addition to the above very fine answers, I just wanted to add, that if you are recognized as being one of the best at doing it, then if there is some periodical such as a magazine or newspaper that runs columns that have poetry in them, then you might be able to contribute to them and make, perhaps, some pretty good money, especially if they are syndicated and publish in more that one magazine or newspaper.

But, I would agree, that it would be advisable to try to find some other way to actually make a living and do the poetry on the side. Part of the way that I make my living is as a musician. But, because of where I am located, and the difficulty here of making one's entire living being a musician, it is only one of the things that I do for a living.

[Tralyn]

Okay, I want to add one more thing in regards to writing poetry. I use to hope very badly that I could make money from my ability to write too, but really to no avail. When I discovered that the best gift of writing is the personal accomplishments, the pieces of art you create, the fact that some people are able to draw from your words - that's the true value in art... In my opinion. I still keep my poems, and I still write! : )