"What do you want to be when you grow up?" You've probably been asked this question many times. That's because vocations are on people's minds a lot. If you want to continue writing poetry, you need to know that it isn't a job that brings in much money. So, what kind of occupation do you have to have in order to be a poet?
Many poets have backgrounds as teachers, say, for instance, David Cope. Actually David Cope started out as a custodian. Then through a long chain of events involving his poetry he became an English teacher at Grand Rapids Community College . David Cope’s work as custodian affected his poetry because he could write about the lives of ordinary people. His work as a custodian still influences his poetry today. However, he doesn’t think his vocation as a teacher greatly affects his poetry. He says that in his current job he loves “the brilliant younger poets whose growth is a pleasure to watch.” He says that to balance his poetry and his work he simply has to manage class time and maintain a sense of delight with every project he does.
Another poet who was an English teacher at Grand Rapids Community College is Robert VanderMolen. One day, however, he decided that teaching just wasn’t what he wanted to do the rest of his life. He had been house painting on the side, and he found it relaxing because he could daydream and fantasize while he worked. He quit teaching and decided to stick with just painting. Robert VanderMolen says his occupation can help him with his poetry. “While working on a ladder I daydream--a very good process for writing poetry--some daydreams lead to writing ideas or interesting lines of verse.” He also meets interesting people through his work. Often times these people confide in him and give him more ideas for his poems.
Daniel Gerber was a teacher too, and a professional writer, but he also works for Gerber Baby Foods as a director and a member of the executive committee. He says the worry of the business world affected his life, so it has probably been reflected in his poems. “My muse, and my characters, simply weren't interested in my ‘other life’ and perhaps felt neglected, or even a little betrayed when I had abandoned them.” To keep this from happening again he separates his writing from his work. He never thinks about his poems while not writing.
Another man who does a little teaching is Greg Rappleye, but that’s not his main job. Greg Rappleye is an attorney. He finds the only connection his poetry and his work as an attorney have is the skills he uses, like attention to detail and a need for order. He never gets material for his poems from his work. In fact, he finds poetry to be an escape from it. “My sense is that my readers would become bored with reading my lawyer poems. I know I would become bored writing them.” He writes in the early morning before work because he doesn’t have time to write there.
What occupation fits a poet? Well, these four poets have four very different jobs: painter, professor, business executive, and lawyer. It looks you can have just about any job to earn a living and still write poetry. I was surprised to discover that these four poets have all taught. Maybe that’s because poetry, like teaching, is a way to communicate ideas and attitudes with others. Sometimes your vocations will have great affects on your poetry, other times they won’t. Either way, it’s important to work hard at both.