How to become a favorite poet. by bukhar...long name

"I never tell people that writing is difficult. It is not difficult. Writing is the easiest thing in the world. You put words in some kind of order and then you are done." I think you're being a bit disingenuous here. Of course the act of making some marks on some paper or typing some words into a computer is really easy - particularly for people with hands. But writing something that someone else - particularly someone who is not a close friend or relative - will choose to read and will enjoy is quite difficult. That's why lots of people do it so badly. That said, this poem isn't about writing being difficult, it's suggesting that you're more likely to become famous by killing yourself in a spectacular way than by writing poetry.

I suppose that is true. Its better to go down in flames that never go down at all. Its nice when someone tells you what their intentions were. But, writing is still not difficult. You can't please all the people all the time so the trick is choosing your audience and pleasing them. You can write for yourself. You can write for an audience. You can write for a critic. People have to learn to draw their own line between all three. The act of discussing it is better than one person saying 'It is hard'. That is just masturbation.

A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. - Thomas Mann i don't think it's about pleasing people- it's about pleasing yourself. and i think writing for yourself is harder than writing for a critic or writing for an audience. once you can finally please yourself with a piece of writing, then your job is done. and that's hard. and, as far as bukharin's poem goes, it reminded me of billy collins' poetry (if you haven't read him, he's fabulous). i felt it to be pretty straightforward, if not a bit satirical.

I'm not advocating spectacular suicide over writing poetry, I'm suggesting it's an easier way to get famous than writing poetry. "But, writing is still not difficult. You can't please all the people all the time so the trick is choosing your audience and pleasing them." Even after you've chosen your audience, it's difficult to write things they want to read. "You can write for yourself. You can write for an audience. You can write for a critic." Well, all my writing is for myself unless I'm being specifically paid by someone else to write a specific thing. Most of it is for an audience or there's not really much point writing, it's easier just to think. I don't know about critics. I haven't really reached that level, yet. "The act of discussing it is better than one person saying 'It is hard'. That is just masturbation." Well, I suppose that depends on who else is there and what happens next.

Ultimately, everyone writes for themselves, no? Unless of course we all need the approval/adulation of others; but maybe The Pop Brother's Apprentice Idol could get us that, at least for a short time. Never underestimate the power of fools in large groups. graffito in bar outside US Air Base in Turkey Ewan