how do poets make money?

In college, I had a few poetry classes…the answer is, most poets don’t make money. They become song writers, if they want to make enough to earn a living.

Thing is, anybody can write poetry…once you get feedback from well educated, collegiate peers…well, you realize that it’s all more or less “emo”. Sorry, this is from about 14 years ago, before people used the world emo, when I was last in university.

How many books of poetry have you bought? Probably next to zero :) I know I’ve bought none, and I was an aspiring poet at one point…lol.

That doesn’t mean you can’t make money, but even the guy who read at my college, a pulitzer prize winning author…well, even his stuff I wasn’t into enough to buy the book, nor remember his name - I just recall him being old and the tone of his delivery was a lot like every other poet I’d heard: self suffering, the world against me, monotone with a bare hint of inflection…posture slumped, as though partly defeated.

(added) best thing to do would be get a traditional publisher, as that way you get get the book into the most hands.