"Poets who value poetry as a vocation have traditionally looked to teaching, especially university creative writing programs for their incomes. With the proliferation of tens of thousands of MFA-trained poets looking for teaching jobs, it is vital that poets consider other avenues of employment. The award-winning poet, Sandy McIntosh, having lost an early teaching assignment, launched a life-long career in businesses that utilized his writing abilities. Instead of corrupting his poetry, he shows how working in different writing genres enhances creative work"--
Chapter One "On Becoming a Poet" Series. IN PLAN B: A POET'S SURVIVORS MANUAL, McIntosh offers the answer: you need a Plan B if you want to put food on the table, wear shoes without holes in the soles, and stop living with roommates before you turn sixty. Taking us on a witty, fascinating, no-holds barred romp through his own experiences in the world of commercial writing and publishing, McIntosh reassures us that it is possible to have a successful career as a poet while holding down day jobs that make us better writers.
If you're a poet, how are you going to survive if you can't get a teaching job?
In PLAN B: A POET'S SURVIVORS MANUAL, McIntosh offers the answer: you need a Plan B if you want to put food on the table, wear shoes without holes in the soles, and stop living with roommates before you turn sixty. Taking us on a witty, fascinating, no-holds barred romp through his own experiences in the world of commercial writing and publishing, McIntosh reassures us that it is possible to have a successful career as a poet while holding down day jobs that make us better writers.
"PLAN B: A POET'S SURVIVORS MANUAL is a wonderful book, an important book, a book aspiring writers of fiction and poetry should read. On page 50: "The best day job for a poet involves writing. Writing anything. . .will make you a better writer." I have said these exact words to many students, many writers, and have lived my life by this credo... My entire career, which strikes even me as improbable, illustrates many of your 'survival tips.'" --David Lehman, Editor, The Oxford Book of American Poetry. Series Editor, The Best American Poetry
Literary Nonfiction. Poetry.
