As you may or may not know, storytelling as an industry—or set of industries—is going through something of a crisis.
It began with music. The internet destabilized the despotic grasp record companies held on the business. Then blogging and Craigslist combined to displace thousands of jobs in journalism. Now, the conflict has turned to publishing, and icons like Seth Godin are saying writers might not deserve to get paid anymore.
A lot of people say they don’t get poetry.
But what’s to get?
Poetry is an experience to enjoy in the same way music is an experience to enjoy.
Dear Resistance,
I have known you all my life. You haunt me with every breath. I’m sick of the voices that feed me doubts and distractions. The constant fears and hesitations you cause are worse than nails on a chalkboard.
Your deception is often disguised as beauty. One moment you are a cup of coffee, or four seconds later a shiny new guitar. You know how to use a beautiful song or amazing speech to make me feel even more insecure.
“How often do you blog?” these writers would ask.
“Every day,” I’d say, with the stiff upper lip required of such statements.
“Wow. I don’t know how you do it.” I usually tell them it’s like my second job, that if they treated blogging like their job, they could do it, too. However, some still aren’t satisfied.
“I would run out of ideas!” they say.
