The Secret Life of Poets

Do people in your everyday, "real" life know you are a poet?

  • I burn my poems because I would die if anyone read them.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • A few people know I write but I don't let them read it!

    Votes: 5 21.7%
  • I share my writing with other writers I know-- or a small group of people.

    Votes: 4 17.4%
  • It's not a secret, when it comes up, I tell people and share if they are interested.

    Votes: 14 60.9%
  • I wear a t-shirt that says "poet" and feed guests poetry instead of appetizers.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    23

SeattleRain

Literotica Guru
Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Posts
988
Do the people in your every day life know you are a poet?


We all have parts of ourselves we keep private from different people in our lives-- this is healthy, normal whatever you want to call it, non-clinical.

Will the news come to them some day from a stranger on the internet, telling them how much you were loved?

Will they find it stashed in folders and in old travel bags on the floor of your closet?


Any thoughts on this?
 
For years I told no one--I had no confidence in my ability and was terrified that if I admitted it, I'd actually have to--gasp--show someone something I wrote. Now I share if people are interested. I see myself as a writer. I have come to accept that I'm as much that as I am human.

:rose:
 
People know I write...but no one has any idea about my online writing except for you all and a few friends.

My wife has no idea
and neither does my family
I kinda prefer it that way
:)
 
Well, people know I write stuff. But they think it's only stageplays, since those are actually played on stages and my name is on posters and in programmes and all. Kind of hard to hide that.

But I don't hide that I write poetry either. I mention it to family and friends when the subject arises ("Uh, no I gotta hang up now, mom, I have this poetry challenge that I need to get done. I'll call you later."). I do refrain from mentioning that I post said poems on a smut site though. :)

#L
 
A story is easy to share (unless it's porn). A poem is much more difficult to share because you have to pay attention when you read it. A lot of people don't want to take the time and read it and read it again and savor it and maybe read it once more. Most poems exist on more than one level. Even the writer doesn't know all the levels because they change from reader to reader. Well, good poetry does anyway. Some of my stuff only exists on one level and most people try not to get that on their shoes....:D

So where the hell was I? Oh yeah, sharing. If I don't think someone is willing to give my poem the time of day, I don't share. But I do give the benefit of the doubt....

Foooool
 
I've mentioned it a time or two, but it doesn't earn a paycheck so it's a non thing. I don't mention it anymore.
 
My stories (the ones that aren't erotic) I share with whoever wants to see them or asks about them. I don't think of them as private writings.

My poems are another matter though...although I post some of them here, noone here truly knows me, or knows the people I have written them for/about. My sister has read some of them, and my friends know they exist, but overall they are unread by people I know in "reality."

Oddly enough, my stories are written for no particular person & I can share them with anybody, but often my poems are written with a specific person in mind & yet I don't share them with that person or anybody else.

:rose: The Precipice of Love (poem)
:devil: My First Surrender (Story)
 
To share or not

With people on the Net yes - most of the ppl I end up having continuing conversations with on the Net are intense--or at least intelligent - so sharing poetry is easy.

In some cases though even intense ppl don't have a feel for poetry so there is a feeling of loss that it can't be shared.

Sharing stories is easier as others here have said and I don't have a prob with erotica since the ppl I talk to are generally erotic.

During my working life I was often with journalists and broadcasters--so even if they weren't poetry fans they had to attitude toward poetry.

But at sea on destroyers - or in Army tents in the high Arctic surrounded by scuba gear the subject didn't really come up at all.

Carl
 
"had NO attitude" toward poetry meant in previous

1. subj. refers.
 
I let someone I know in "real life" see the poems I posted on here and I kind of ended up regretting it.
Its not that I am ashamed of it but I have found that people that don't normally read poetry can't seperate what I have written from who I am as a person. What I right about might not be something I directly experienced and a lot of people i know don't get that. So I much prefer showing my work to you fine people.:)
 
I was tired of getting odd looks when I told people I wrote poetry. I am a corporate accountant, so I guess this doesn't jive to most folks.

Of course, I also attend regular open-mic poetry readings. The folks there can't believe I'm an accountant.

Go figure.


Splitting my personality,


Cordelia
 
It's not something I talk about with many people, unless the conversation comes up from their end of things. I generally don't like to toot my own horn, for lack of a better phrase.
 
What Cordelia and Tulip say

yes Tulip--it's annoying when ppl shoot the messenger

yes Cordelia - they seem to expect poets to be (uniformly) vague creatures of the demimonde

Carl
 
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