Is poetry a hard sell?

I don't know about you, but I've found very few people seem to be familiar with contemporary poetry, and out of those who are familiar with it, even fewer seem to be fans. Mention a published poet, even a Pulitzer Prize winner, and what do you get?

Crinkled noses. Shuffling feet. Eyes focused on something in the upper right corner of the room. You know what I'm talking about. All the enthusiasm of a day-old glazed donut.

Is poetry a hard sell?

If you look at how poets support themselves today, you'll see a lot of professors. You might see the occasional nurse-poet, or schoolteacher-poet, and maybe the odd banker or lawyer or engineer. The circumstantial evidence speaks for itself. Most poets don't make enough from poetry to buy stamps, let alone food. Most poets need a day job.

Yes, poetry's a hard sell. Poetry's a very hard sell.

But why?

Why isn't poetry more popular? Why aren't ordinary people reading poetry, talking poetry, buying poetry?

At an artists' panel discussion last week, Judith Mansour-Thomas, Director of The Lit in Cleveland and editor of the group's new literary magazine, Muse, said poets read poetry, fiction writers listen to poetry, and that's about it.

What about the slew of poetry readings in coffee shops and bookstores? What about poetry slams, events where performance poetry dominates (often with a lot of rhyming, often about the angst of young love or the intensity of sex).

I've seen the artistic equivalent of the Barack Obama phenom, people sandwiched into small rooms, most of them under the age of 25. I've come away after reading my own work, free verse that doesn't rhyme, that's not about young love or the ecstasy of sex, still hearing the applause in my head, and thinking whoo-hoo, poetry is back.

Poetry is a hard sell. Poetry is making a comeback. Which is it? Could it be both?

Ameriku is not your typical contemporary poetry. First, it's my interpretation, my slant on the ancient Japanese tradition of haiku. Second, it's combined with visual art, ready to hang on the wall, or display on a nightstand or desk. Ameriku is short, accessible, nature-oriented, and meditative.

My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku is my art and my business and my brand.

Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.