# How Do Poets Make A Living? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319 "2010-10-25T19:26:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/21 "2010-10-26T14:00:52Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I have two people who would describe themselves as full-time poets working in the English Department I help run, and I’d estimate that upwards of 99% of their incomes are earned by their duties teaching, running the CW program, etc. A year where their poetry brings in $1000 is a very good year for them, but publishing that poetry makes them eligible to earn the good livings they make. This. I’ve made a grand total of $250 on my poetry _per se_, but it’s opened the door to several teaching gigs. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/22 "2010-10-26T14:07:47Z")
Surprised no one has mentioned the “employed spouse”. I’m not sure about poets, but science fiction writer Michael Swanwick for a long time had a note in his “about the author” section thanking the (name of his wife) Endowment for the Humanities for supporting him; I think he took it out when too many people asked him how they could get a grant. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/23 "2010-10-26T15:22:40Z")
Ron Butlin is a respected Scottish poet who lives round the corner from me; he’s had to branch out into writing novels and stories, etc., and is also married to another author… He hasn’t had a full time job for ages and still thinks of himself as a poet, afaik. Here’s his [forthcoming appearance schedule](http://www.ronbutlin.co.uk/index.htm), and here’s [his bio](http://www.ronbutlin.co.uk/about.htm). ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/24 "2010-10-26T18:16:56Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Poets that make a living writing poetry? > > We tend to call them “lyricists”. This is what I was going to say. How do you make a living as a poet? Let someone put music to it. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/25 "2010-10-26T19:10:52Z")
Ye-e-e-s, but that rather depends on your poetry appealing to the type of composer who will make money with your texts as lyrics. I’m in the midst of getting Canadian composers to set works by Canadian poets right now, which means communicating about rights with Canadian publishers. Some of them get it, some of them need convincing and some of them just don’t understand why contemporary classical composer X’s music isn’t going to make as much money as the Barenaked Ladies or the Tragically Hip. It would be different if my musical project were commercially driven rather than aesthetically driven - as it stands, none of us stand to make a great deal of money. Most of the poets I’ve been in touch with are simply driven by different considerations than cash. For that matter, most of the publishers are driven by something beyond the market, but they’re a little more aware of where there might be money to be made. It has all been very interesting and rewarding; it just hasn’t generated very much cash, nor is it likely to. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/26 "2010-10-27T12:34:16Z")
It certainly doesn’t count as classical music unless you consider Metallica to be “classical”, but yesterday on the radio I heard Tierra Santa’s Canción del Pirata (“The Pirate’s Song”) - lyrics by 19th century poet José de Espronceda. It was quite a strange moment, hearing that famous poem my father would sometimes declaim complete, with great gesturing and swinging of arms, coming out of the radio as a heavy metal song. I strongly doubt anybody got royalties on the lyrics themselves, mind you, as Espronceda has been dead some 168 years. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/27 "2010-10-27T12:45:30Z")
Actually, it occurs to me that [Judith Viorst](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Viorst) probably could make a living writing poetry, though she also writes children’s fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/28 "2010-10-27T19:01:27Z")
Well some herd sheep, or guide the blind, but those aren’t really pets. Actual pets just sponge off their owners…whats that? [/Emily Litella] ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319/29 "2010-10-27T19:09:27Z")
Well, this fellow runs the Social Security Administration as his day job. [Michael J. Astrue - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Astrue) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poets-make-a-living/558319.md?page=1)