This topic has been following me around a lot lately, so I thought I’d finally try to articulate my thoughts on it in one place.

Some of the questions that swirl around this topic are: How to Market Poetry? Can We Market Poetry to Those Who Don’t Normally Read it? Will More People Come to Poetry if it is “Off the Page” so in Video, Audio, Subways etc? Why Do We Want, so Much, to Push for Poetry?

There is no simple answer for any of this but I’ll start with the last and kind of work my way around:  I think poets push for Poetry to have a presence with non-poets because we know how powerful a particularly good poem can be, how–like a powerful song or movie–the art of poetry can truly make you stop in your tracks.

Because we love Poetry, (and I’m mainly speaking from those people who not only write poetry and talk about their own work but who want to share the work of other people they love – cause I do rant a bit about navel gazers) we want everyone to have some connection to it.  But, the reality is, most poetry has an audience with other poets and a select few of people who enjoy words. I am starting to feel that this is not something that is ever going to significantly change.  And is that a bad thing?

I’m starting to believe it isn’t a bad thing.  I’d like to see younger people more interested in poetry and that is part of why I started my YouTube zine “Shape of a Box” because I wanted a wider audience for poetry as well as other good fiction/non-fiction/comix and stage/screen but, sadly, those still aren’t the people I’m reaching.  The people who want my videos are people who have been in the zine and send it to their friends.  There are very few people who just go to the site to watch the videos on a weekly basis.  I have plans to keep the zine alive after my one year anniversarry in October by doing monthly issues, but I’m beginning to second guess even that.

So, where do I find poetry alive? I think it is actually VERY much alive on the page.  I think the best way to get it OFF the page is to go to Open Mike’s and to do readings wherever you can because the physical presence of a poet with their words and their pages seems to be what draws an audience in.  I see this with the younger generation as well as my generation and beyond.  People who truly love words and want to be surrounded by them still really want, for the most part, the physical feel of the page.  And I think we should keep it that way.

So read a good book today, or go somewhere and read to a live audience.  The presence of paper, poet and power will equal joy