I'd be curious what other advice you get.
The academic/not/web discussion recurs on all lists fairly frequently.
In academia, one receives some measure of institutional support, but
time in school is temporary. Many academics aren't available to
students in many ways. There are poets who seek isolation (I'm not one
of them) -- maybe you can embrace that?
I was driving to an interview yesterday. There's a job 60 miles away in
an area that until last year (date of my road map) was hiking trails,
which are in suburban backyards now. It seems unbelievable that other
people spend their time in environments as unsympathetic to them as
these I spend time in are for me. It can't hurt to try to find the
people doing interesting things. I've lived in some awful places, and
always find people eventually (it takes a while and be very depressing
until you find people). You could try to start a reading or writing
group if there's not one in your area. Maybe at the library. Even
online. Be bold. Don't limit yourself to poets.
There are online workshops, free and not (most American universities
have them, probably Australian, too). I taught some. You have to poke
around to get a teacher who's not going to just follow a print "how to
write" book, who is a poet, and who made the course you're taking (as
opposed to a TA teaching someone else's course). If you like modernism,
be sure to read the poetry of the teacher. A surprising number of
"poets" online, even teaching online, do not care for modernism. You
might also sign up as an expert or tutor on web sites; I was an AOL
poetry mentor and it was fantastic to get poetry-related e-mail.
There are some ezines that encourage readers to comment on poems. Not
the most prestigious sites for publication credentialling, but these are
worth it to me because people send me e-mails about poems.
Rgds,
Catherine Daly
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