Sydney Poetry

A social site for poets in Sydney.

How can we get more people reading poetry?

As a group poets seem to be concerned about improving their poetry (good stuff!!), getting their poetry published in literary journals, and/or poetry magzines (myself included) and getting their work published as a book, either by a publisher or through self publishing. Are there any poets out there working on how to increase the overall readership of poetry?

It seems to me that if more people enjoyed reading poetry the market for all poets would be greater and this would result in more recognition and even, perhaps, making money (I know this is crass commercialism but I'm not aware of any poet, of any statue, who lives soley off the earnings of poetry).

Perhaps there are poets out there who have worked on this and/or have some thoughts on this question?

Dallas Burgess

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Permalink Reply by Paul Giles on August 6, 2011 at 14:54

It seems to me that talk of a "crisis in poetry" - that it's dying, or not popular enough - has accompanied poetry itself for a long time now. I'd like to think that people that need poetry, find it. I, for one, really don't feel it's a bad thing that poetry is a marginal phenomenon, if it indeed is (disputable). Working at the margins of language and culture can be a very important and powerful stimulus for change and diversity. The poetry industry, having such a convoluted relationship to economic capital, has freedoms open to it that other activities just don't have. I don't think that's a necessarily bad thing!

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Permalink Reply by Dallas Burgess on August 6, 2011 at 18:02

Thanks Paul. The points you made are very important. I have started to search the net for more information. Here is an intersting article on the difficulties facing poets and poetry called

'Poetry Scene - Current Difficulties" it is in the english context but much of what is said applies equally to Australia. The link is http://textetc.com/modernist/current-difficulties.html

Dallas