All poets can agree: we don't write poetry for the money. Still, it hurts to see Rachel Friedman's article "The Microeconomics of Poetry" at New York Magazine's blog cite the following facts (among others):
# of poetry MFA degrees awarded in 2011: 1400
# of jobs available to teach in MFA programs (the only things those grads are qualified to do): 750
Copies of Jane Hirshfield's Come, Thief sold: 2,250
Earnings to Jane Hirshfield from those 2,250 sales (assuming a 10% royalty): $5,625
Number of books by Tomas Transtromer sold in the 10 years before he won the Nobel: 12,300
Number of books by Tomas Transtromer scheduled for printing in 2 weeks since he won the Nobel: at least 50,000
Not bah-humbugged out yet? Read the rest of the article for more discouraging news about the market for poetry.
It's a good thing we don't write for the money or the recognition, or it might really make us sad.
2 comments:
Jane Hirshfield would like to know where the reporter got her numbers, and for what time period.
OK, I do know. It is probably from Bookscan--which is, I myself was surprised to discover on comparing their numbers with what my publisher has told me of actual sales, way low. I don't know why.
This does not mean I am getting wealthy from publishing poetry, of course. Or that I write for either recognition or money--so your larger point holds...
Thanks for letting me know that these numbers are low. That, at least, is encouraging. Happy Holidays.
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