The poet

You just thought I posted howls of rage on this blog every night.  Guess again.  I am also a poet, with a few hundred in my backlog.  I won’t post any of them here, but I do try to get them published.  

The process is this.  I usually send for a sample copy of a poetry review.  Then I submit four or five poems that I think might get published.  Then I wait, sometimes a few weeks, sometimes over a year.  Along with the poems I send a self-addressed stamped envelope (known in the poetry business as an SASE).  Then, when that comes back I tear it open with eager anticipation to read the rejection slip.

I have been published in a few journals, including Barbaric Yawp, Coal City Review, Song of the San Joaquin, and Stirring.  The usual payment for a published poem is two copies of the journal.

I read that the last poet to make a living from publishing poetry was Robert Frost, and even he gave lectures and talks to supplement his income.