Another Day, Another Poem Sold

Poetry for profit may be looked down upon by the literati, but it does serve its purpose when it resonates with the masses. So I don't mind when poetry snobs turn up their noses to what I call "Americana poetry." After all, poetry is only good if the reader is able to understand it, and let's face it, most of us find it almost impossible to understand what some call poetry. That's why we neither read or study it.

Of course, there is a lot of bad "poetry" out there; a lot that simply can't be read. No one who writes Americana poetry wants to be lumped into that category. I certainly hope I never am; when that day comes, I promise to stop penning any of it for public consumption. I may still do so privately just to torture myself.

Which brings me to my point. I just received another contract today from Blue Mountain Arts for my latest poem for them, which is much less like poetry than it is prose. It truly is exciting to go to the mailbox and discover a large yellow envelope with their label on it. They don't send rejection letters out because they receive nearly 1,000 poems a month. Therefore, you know when you receive an envelope from them, you will be getting good news.

And that's always good.