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Is it realistic to want to be a poet as a living?

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Answer #1

It’s realistic, but you won’t make much from it, if anything for that matter. People that have books published hardly make enough out of the books they write to live on.

So while yes, you can be a poet as a living, another profession that you can depend upon wouldn’t hurt to have.

Answer #2

Unfortunately these days people don’t seem to care for novels much less poetry. If you like writing, writing books would be more of a reliable career- though even books are slowly being less published as technology evolves faster and faster. Poetry is a fantastic pastime, and it would be great to have some of your work published one day but in the meantime I think you should think of some more sturdy reliable career options. Maybe you could look into teaching the history of poems and poets as a college teacher or something? Just a suggestion.

Answer #3

Yes it is realistic theres lot of people that want to be a poet for a carrier :)

Answer #4

I believe it’s totally unrealistic, sadly. Whenever you mix art and commerce, something usually has to give. Authors of best selling novels barely make enough to live on. Keep writing poetry and do it for yourself and your friends.

You could also try your hand at song writing but you’d also need to find someone to write the music and it’s a highly competitive industry.

Answer #5

One doesn’t write poetry to make a living. One writes to make a life.

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