Events & Calendars How to be a Professional Poet & Why it Might Even be a Good Idea

How to be a Professional Poet, and Why it Might Even be a Good Idea.

You'd have to be crazy to try being a professional poet in this economy, right? Maybe. But just because it's crazy doesn't mean it's a bad idea. After all, career moves that appeared eminently sensible in 2008 can look downright nutty today. Might there be some value, even some practicality, in doing what you love?

If you want to be a professional poet, you can't just be a good poet. You must also be a good professional. They don't teach professionalism in Johnson Chapel, but you still need to understand it before you hit the workforce. This will not be a writing workshop, but a talk and Q&A session on professional skills for poets, comedians, singer/songwriters, and other creative writers. (If your career plans terrify your parents, then this talk is for you!)
• The relationship between art and commerce…and why you need to stop making that face you just made (we saw it!).
• Basic business skills you need to know and how to learn them.
• Why your resume matters, why your resume probably stinks, and how to fix it.
• Why you need to stop saying "once I graduate, I'll…"
Artie Moffa '00 is the founding editor of Bicycle Comics and the co-producer of San Francisco's The Lit Slam. A three-year veteran of the Boston Poetry Slam and a five-year veteran of Pearson Custom Publishing, he was the co-author of 2009's Boys at Play, a collection of light verse and comics to benefit the Annual Fund.