[David Anthony]

of poems, what would be considered a good result?
500 sales...1,000....10,000...?
I don't think poems sell as well as blockbuster novels.
Regards,
David

[Tim Love]

The UK? A print-run of 300 is usually more than adequate.

David Kennedy said that "big publishers are notorious for not wanting to release this sort of information". In 1998 he wrote that "The average print run for first collections from someone like Bloodaxe or Chatto is about 1500-2000. Even so, I've heard stories over the years that big London houses might print 2000 copies but only bind and distribute half that qty so they can pulp the rest at minimum cost"

[A. E. Stallings]

I've heard that in the US, selling out a print-run of 2,000 for poetry essentially puts it the rank of a poetry "bestseller." (I could be wrong...) I think among living poets, only someone of Seamus Heaney's popularity could possibily move 10,000 copies.

[Kevin Corbett]

From what I've heard, Billy Collins is where the money is today. Nobody signs a six-figure contract who can't sell. I imagine he might even put more out then Heney. But I could be wrong.

-K

[A. E. Stallings]

True! I'd forgotten about Billy Collins.

[David Anthony]

How depressing.
Allowing for friends, family and review copies, I calculate the third-party sales from a print run of 300 to be zero, plus or minus 10.
How different it would be, if all writers of poetry were required by law to buy (say) one book of contemporary poetry per year!
Regards,
David

[Michael Juster]

Just hold these thoughts until mine comes out in the winter....

[John Beaton]

How different it would be, if all writers of poetry were required by law to buy (say) one book of contemporary poetry per year!

The numbers and the above comment seem defeatist, but suggest positive challenges. Here are some questions they raise in my mind.

For whom is most poetry written today?

If Burns were alive, would he command greater numbers or attract non-poet audiences? Why?

Is it impossible to reach a wide audience with poetry? The Light Quarterly Classic Joke project is an example of something that could have broader-than-normal appeal. What else could do this?

People read - primarily newspapers, novels, and non-fiction books. Can poetry compete?

We focus on technique. Should we pay more attention to content and potential appeal?

Many "good poems" in poet-community terms would not command thirty seconds of the general public's attention. Do poets restrict their audiences unnecessarily with academic content, literary allusion, lame topics, and inaccessibility?

Most people know some "old" poems (e.g. "The Highwayman"), but few "modern" ones. Why? What do the schools emphasize and why?

What would a multi-million-copy poetry book have to contain?

Is a book the right medium for poetry? How might CD's, videos, and live performance fit in? Could a bunch of dynamic poets form a "group" and go on tour? Could poetry compete with popular music? (Anybody for the "Strolling Drones"?)

Are rap and hip-hop indicators of a widespread appetite for poetry that is not being satisfied? Teens have rap. The professor has Keats and some poetic friends. Could poets today put beat in the feet of the other persons-in-the-street?

John




[This message has been edited by John Beaton (edited November 05, 2002).]

[Tim Love]

Picking up on some of John Beaton's points...

• For whom is most poetry written today?- I wouldn't be surprised if most poetry is only read by the poet
• Is it impossible to reach a wide audience with poetry?, Most people know some "old" poems ... but few "modern" ones. - People say the same about music (meaning 'classical' music). Actually music/poetry reaches a wide audience and new music/poetry is known by many. The term 'music' covers everything from Mozart to Glass and Slipknot - music-lovers often have little in common and might have more in common with certain art-lovers. Ditto with poetry - it's a slippery word, and I don't feel much allegiance to poets per se
• Is a book the right medium for poetry? - As archiving devices they're useful, and they're good for sending to critics. But poems in big mags are likely to be read more.
• Could a bunch of dynamic poets form a "group" and go on tour? - Yes. Indeed someone I know here (Peter Howard, prizes in national competitions, publication with Oxford UP) has teamed up with some other serious and not so serious people to tour the region and (recently) New York. See <A HREF=http://www.hphoward.demon.co.uk/j6/>The Joy of Six</a>

[Clive Watkins]

Why should it matter if only a small number of people read "serious verse" and so buy books of such verse? It dawned on me nearly five years ago - I can date this moment very accurately - that if anyone mentioned a historical event, almost my first thought was to recall which poets were writing at that time. It struck me that this was a narrow and perverse system of chronology. I have since come to think of verse, including "serious verse", as an enjoyable diversion, one which, by background, social class and education, it happens I am fitted to engage in. That only a few others (relative to the mass of literate persons) share my interest seems, now, neither odd nor particularly regrettable.

Clive Watkins