A friend of mine—one trying to keep a journal afloat—told me with horror that his teachers while he was getting his MFA boasted about how they subscribed to no journals. They only read journals that were sent to them (either as contributor copies or just cause they were famous). I think, and not having been there I can’t be sure, but I think that they were boasting about their having made it to the professional side of the money/time economy of poetry. They ALWAYS got paid for poetry time—whether reading or writing. They NEVER paid for anything poetry related.
-- Jason Schneiderman, full blogpost here.
3 comments:
“Professionalism” begins at home. Look at all those up and comers who gleefully disdain any writing—particularly critical reviews—that goes unremunerated.
Word verification: “dings”
"They ALWAYS got paid for poetry time—whether reading or writing. They NEVER paid for anything poetry related."
Consolation prizes. You want to spend some quality time with the queenly Muse of Poetry? Philistines need not apply.
"No man but a blockhead...." And yet as a writer, I can't help but note that the man who said that devoted himself to literature even though there were years when it left him penniless.
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