Thursday 3 July 2008

Why is poetry not "mainstream"?

Why are sales of poetry books so small compared to novels?
Why is something that is so important to me, of no interest to a large majority of people?
Why does poetry have such a "bad press"?
Did Eliot and Pound destroy the widespread cultural enjoyment of poetry?
Has popular enjoyment of poetry moved into Rap, pop music and comic verse stand-up?
What about middle-brow poetry?
Why isn't there a market for poetry that lies somewhere between Eliot an Eninem on the one hand or Eliot and Hegley on the other?
Do the notable success stories like David Whyte show a way to a rebirth of interest?
Or are they just exceptions that prove the rule?

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