10 Questions Poets Wish They Didn't Get Asked
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10 Questions Poets Wish They Didn't Get Asked

"What Even IS a Poetry Slam?"

Jocelyn Mosman
May 31, 2016
Mount Holyoke College
19
10 Questions Poets Wish They Didn't Get Asked
Caramba Clothes

Hello fellow poets! Have you ever been asked something you find a bit crazy/absurd/unanswerable? Here are a few of my "favorite" questions that I get asked about my poetry, and how I usually feel afterwards.

1. Where do you get your inspiration?

Answer: Everywhere. Everything. Sometimes nothing. I don't know.

2. Can you recite a poem for me RIGHT NOW?

Answer: In the middle of a restaurant? Maybe later? Or never?

3. Can you write a poem for me RIGHT NOW?

Answer: In the middle of a party? Maybe later? Or never?

4. Isn't poetry pretty boring?

Answer: Not really. I actually kind of enjoy it, thanks. *quotes Dead Poets Society*

5. You know poetry doesn't make you money, right?

Answer: If I win enough slams, maybe I can buy groceries. Also, if people considered my poetry an art form, maybe it would make money.

6. So, are you going to be the next William Shakespeare or something?

Answer: Basically.

7. What even IS a poetry slam?

Answer: A competitive poetry performance where you are vulnerable onstage in front of an audience and in return receive cold, hard numeric scores from judges who walked into a bar and got handed scoreboards.

8. Do you just write about your feelings and stuff?

Answer: Sure, let's go with that.

9. Isn't poetry kind of pretentious?

Answer: You say pretentious like it's a bad thing.

10. Do you sit around in your pajamas and write poetry all day?

Answer: Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. Sometimes we go outside.

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