The Poet In Our Culture: But I’m Not Bitter (2015-08-17)
“It is 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.” —W. H. Auden
Doing readings, talks, or ‘teaching’ creative writing—these are the tiny financial rewards for being recognized as a ‘real’ poet. And I must confess it galls me that English professors can earn a good living by writing about poetry and poets, while poets work at day jobs to support them. But then what’s new? The working class that produces something of value doesn’t profit, while those that just capitalize on it do.
