"That suggests that when you're in a dry spell, you're not a poet. It doesn't mean you are more or less worthy as a person. Just that you are not Doing the Thing on a regular basis, at this particular time in your life.
Which is another reason why I'm not in a hurry to have business cards made. More often than not, it's not true that I am Doing the Thing."
Not sure I agree with this logic, Julie. All poets have had dry spells. I guess I should ask how long the dry spell has to be in order for a poet to forfeit the title. Certainly we're allowed to take a week or two off now and then? How about six months? A year maybe? Perhaps it also depends on your intent during the dry spell, and whether the dry spell ever ends.
Etymology is not a very good way to prove the point, however, since it could equally prove that no one gets to call themselves anything if they haven't done it for a long time. If you're an unemployed plumber, you're not a plumber after all even though you know how to fix pipes and are prepared to resume doing so if anyone hires you.
It's odd that this is a frequent source of discussion among poets, yet the answer to the question changes absolutely nothing, as is the case with most "arguments" that ultimately boil down to semantics.
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