Who Reads Poetry?

In honor of National Poetry Month, I’ll be sharing tips and news for poets this month. Today, I’m going to address the common question, “Does anyone still read poetry?” A recent study called Poetry in America by the Poetry Foundation revealed some interesting information on this topic. Here are the highlights.

• Readers in general, and poetry readers in particular, tend to be women and adults with higher levels of education.

• While some people may imagine that poetry readers are quiet and perhaps loners by nature, we find that they are a vibrant, active and sociable group.

• Parents and teachers are most often cited as people who were influential during people’s early experiences with poetry.

• Slightly less than one-third of current users read contemporary poetry exclusively and an additional 23 percent read both classic and contemporary poetry.

• Non-users do read or listen to poetry when they come across it in unexpected places.
• People share poetry with one another.
• Libraries, books clubs and the Internet are among the untapped resources for sharing poetry.

• Regardless of whether people still read or listen to poetry, many of them can recall the names of poets, titles of poems, and can recite lines of poetry.

You may be wondering why this information is important. As a self publishing poet, it is essential that you understand who your readers are and how to reach them. This will help you publish work that is appealing to your audience and to market your books effectively.

I’d love to know, how often do you read poetry and what types of poetry do you read?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog at http://kellyschuknecht.com.