In the life of a poet, it helps to be multitalented.
Though heavy in heart and strong in intellect, a career in poetry has always been notoriously light on the financial side. Some of the world’s most famous poets were poor for most of their lives. Some writers aren’t even recognized until after they’re dead. Bob Dylan once sang of a poet who died in the gutter.
Still, it’s an enticing field. Essential for some.
Especially so in this Pacific Northwest nook of the world.
In honor of National Poetry Month (which we are in the middle of for those who didn’t know), What’s Up wanted to take a look at the world through the eyes of two modern-day poets — Joannie Strangeland and Mary Lou Sanelli, who will be sharing the stage at the Jewel Box Sunday Reading Series at 3 p.m. April 20 in Poulsbo.
“The way I look at it, (poetry) is my career, but it’s not the career I make money at,” said Strangeland, author of two published chapbooks, who works as a technical editor by day. “When I first walked into Nelson Bently’s workshop in the summer of 1983, that’s when I felt that poetry could be my home.”
Just like any other home, she said, the roof can be leaky at times, the faucets may drip and the windows might need to be replaced now and again, still it’s a sanctuary through good times and bad. But keeping that sanctuary intact in a professional sense takes a good deal of maintenance and service on the outside.
SANELLI, A POET OF ALL TRADES
Mary Lou Sanelli literally has the ideal kind of poetic sanctuary — a little cottage in the coastal village of Port Townsend, where she and her make their home.
But, while they still own that haven, they’ve since taken up primary residence in Seattle’s bustling Belltown district.
“Neither of us were able to make a living there,” Sanelli noted. “All of our work was in the city, and we just got tired of the commute.”
In the city, Sanelli has most recently forged her way into the public speaking arena while also teaching dance classes, writing for numerous newspapers and magazines and contributing local talk radio commentary, to supplement poetry throughout her career.
She’s authored six different poetry collections (with another called “Small Talk” set for release this summer on High Plains Press) but the keynote speaking circuit seems to be what’s paying the bills these days.
“I love it because, as a literary person, you can make a living at it,” she said. “Literary venues are wonderful but they don’t often pay.”
Which isn’t to say that she doesn’t support those literary venues. For example, she’s hosted free readings at the Jewel Box for just about every book she’s released and she’s making this April 20 visit in between engagements in New York and Honolulu. But in order to make a living in literature, income has got to come from somewhere.
On the other side of that, in order to continue composing creative works, inspiration must manifest as well. Sanelli has been crafty enough to meld her literary mind into multiple foyers.
“Different venues bring out different parts of you,” she noted.
Whereas she wove throughout a crowd of 50 banquet tables, speaking to educate, motivate and entertain a group business people at a recent keynote speaking engagement, April 20 in the cozy confines of the Jewel Box, she’ll be sharing inspiring and intimate pieces of herself through poetry. WU
