Poetry Discussion : Why should anyone buy your poetry book?

[skuderjaymes]

Lots of Poets write books.. sell books..

Question: Do you buy poetry books?

I was just looking at my shelf and realized that I don't really buy poetry books.. I buy collections of Artists that I like.. but I'm talking full anthologies.. collected works. And I have a couple of other books.. some Pablo Naruda.. some Charles Curtis Blackwell.. but he's a friend of mine.. etc..

Do you buy poetry books?.. and if you do.. what kind of poetry books?.. what made you actually buy the poetry books that you have bought?

 

[skuderjaymes]

Yes, I buy poetry books. I have a nice collection. I will admit most of my poetry books were gifts but still I own them. Some of my favorites: The Collected works of Derek Walcott (brother is so under read), Collected works of William Butler Yeats, a few by Lucille Clifton, Patricia Smith and several by Yusef Komunyakaa (brother is so under read) and the list goes on...

for what it's worth.. I would buy your book because I love your work. In fact, if you had a periodical collection, I would subscribe.. But you already knew that.

 

[info-moetry]

Peace

Sorry to say I have never bought any poetry books per se, but I have read many. To be honest, I didn't even by any of mine, but I read them.

I guess it depends on what we call 'poetry'.

I have a poem on here somewhere in the archives called 'poetry is' .

 

[Angela22]

I've bought one book of poetry before. My own.

And you know when you do something that kinda scars you for life so you never do it again...? Yeah. I was 17 when I wrote it and 19 when it was published. And in all that time, I can't believe I didn't see how bad it was. I don't even like talking about it when family brings it up, it was so bad. I pretend like it never happened. And looking at other books of poetry makes me feel ashamed to this day.


So, no, I don't really buy poetry books.

 

[skuderjaymes]

I've bought one book of poetry before. My own.

And you know when you do something that kinda scars you for life so you never do it again...? Yeah. I was 17 when I wrote it and 19 when it was published. And in all that time, I can't believe I didn't see how bad it was. I don't even like talking about it when family brings it up, it was so bad. I pretend like it never happened. And looking at other books of poetry makes me feel ashamed to this day.


So, no, I don't really buy poetry books.

That's just the Artist in you. Very many Artists can never shift from the "making" art mode.. and so they can't see their own work without obsessing over what they perceive as flaws. Other people have show me things in my own work that I did not know was there. It's subjective.