Yesterday a reader wrote
asking: Why pay for poems.
I’m not sure there’s
an answer. (I’ve gotten
this question before.)
Part of me feels
as though Everything
should be free: We should give
each other whatever we need.
(If poems are what you need,
I am glad to provide them.)
Another part of me feels
like it would be unexpected
(and maybe even wonderful)
to pay for poems. Poems are
elusive. Sometimes they are
unexpected. They were never intended
for my earning a living. I write
them because I want to write them.
I don’t like the Substack phrase:
Support My Work.
You are supporting my work
by reading these poems. And
if you want to pay for them, fine.
If you don’t that’s fine too.
Love, Esther
My friend Bernett led me to this wonderful music:
Susan Tedeschi grew up in the small town next to the small town in Massachusetts where i grew up. i saw her & her band perform several times; free outdoor summer performances for the local folks. Her family owned a chain of supermarkets - Tedeschi's - the only supermarket in my town. fun for me to see her name again in this context -- so many years later.
Moliere write about sexual congress : first done for love; then for a few friends, then for money . Like poetry?