I don't think anybody reads a book of poetry front to back. Editors and reviewers only. I don't think anybody else does.
I don't think poetry has a readership anywhere, really, that's that big.
It seems like every ten years there's a book that says that poetry used to be popular, and now it's not, but we really have no way of knowing, in terms of relative size of audience and other things, exactly who readers were.
I don't believe that poetry is in danger because nobody wants to read it or appreciate it. There is a tremendous audience for it on any given day or night. You just have to know where to look.
Any reflection about poetry should begin, or end, with this question: who and how many read poetry books?
It is always better to write for the whole of society than for the poetry-reading public.
Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.
And there are a lot more people reading poetry, but there are not so many people reading an individual poet.
More people than ever are slowly but surely turning their ears toward poetry.
Stadium rock and commercial rock are the opposite of what poetry needs. An audience of around 200 is ideal for poetry.
With contemporary poetry having approximately as many fans outside the immediate field as there are devotees of undergoing knee surgery, any sentient, breathing reader who's genuinely interested in poetry... not scared of it... seems a godsend.
