“I do not know a poet in the Anglo-Saxon world who makes his living by poetry. Every single one of them makes his living in some other way.”

—  Vachel Lindsay

What It Means to Be a Poet in America (1926)
Context: Most of the good poetry, as I have said, has appeared in pamphlet form before the poet was known to the public. It is utterly impossible to make an income from verse, and one must win his worldly standing, and earn his living some other way. One of the most distinguished of the Middle Western poets supports himself by writing a movie column once a day. I do not know a poet in the Anglo-Saxon world who makes his living by poetry. Every single one of them makes his living in some other way.

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Vachel Lindsay 15
American poet 1879–1931

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