GirlGenius
Las Vegas, NV
Female, 37
I've been a poet for about 10 years. Not your mother's poetry--think more along the lines of Def Jam or Verses and Flow type feel. When I'm not writing, I travel around the country performing with awesome folks. I've also hosted and teach poetry workshops.
I don't have a single method. I'm a "concept" writer--meaning more often than not I'll start with a broad concept in mind and not always a specific subject. I try to dedicate at least a small block of time everyday to working on new pieces. That block of time could be 30 minutes uninterrupted on my laptop or sitting with a notebook. Then there are those moments when stuff just comes to me, in which case I try really hard to have something handy (the Evernote app on my phone has saved my life on multiple occasions).
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I wish it were that easy. Unlike other genres, while people realize that poetry exists in the universe, it's not fully mainstream. Also, poetry is still one of those things where most want to see it in person. That said, most poets get discovered on stage. Perform as much as you can and build a buzz--but you have to do it well. Another route are the literary journals (adding publishing credentials is a boost). I've seen poets I know and love go viral on the web, but those poets already had a large fan base built from years of touring or competing in national level poetry slams.
The short answer is, you have to put in work
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Yes. I know people poets who don't do a great deal of stage work but lend their talent to commercials and advertising, there are some who teach--in addition to performing I teach workshops. Even if you're more of a "literary" poet, you should expect to do readings, but there are ways to make the money without being on stage.
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Because some poets (not all and certainly not many) are pretentious. The vast majority however are not and (speaking for the ones I know) work hard to make poetry accessible
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Of course. Not every poem has to be heavy and tear jerking...if they were open mics would be very depressing. Sometimes poems can just be funny.
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