If poetry and pornography could meet on the Web, what would it look like?
Of course, [pornography and poetry] probably benefit [from the Internet] for different reasons: pornography because people really want it a lot but are embarrassed to go get it in person; poetry because people don’t want it that much, so it helps if they can get it for free without ever even leaving their desk chairs.
Ebenbach’s article responds to the claim that the Internet’s clear winners are pornography, first, and poetry, second. He writes, “it’s all too evident how pornography has benefited from the Internet. But, it’s less obvious to see how poetry has.”
For one, poetry might be dead or, at best, dying, as indicated by a National Endowment of the Arts study. And, if it’s not, it certainly is not a cultural product that is thriving outside of its self-contained circle of editors and writers. But, Ebenbach reflects, people like poetry when they encounter it, and the Internet allows for such chance, and free, poetic encounters to occur.
Most people simply don’t get a chance to encounter poetry in their daily lives. And, of course, they are not interested in actively seeking it out or spending money to get it. But since poets are used to giving away their work, there is a lot of good work available a cost-free click away. “For better or worse, poets have hardly ever expected to make a living from their verse,” Ebenbach explains, so “poets have adopted a metric for success that fits the Internet: we want readers, and the Web has some of those.”
Hordes of poets have taken to the Web to share and promote their work with the hope of building a following. But, as a poet who posts her work for free on a blog, I have to wonder what is the poetry world’s real end game here? Fame? Fortune certainly is not one. Are poets really going to be okay with performing a public service, so to speak, by giving out their work for others to read and enjoy? Because, if a writer’s work is already available for free on the Web, what are the real chances that people will want to buy a hard copy? Plus, a book requires more effort than the Web. You actually have to set aside a time to read. Reading on the Web, even if it’s poetry, can easily be construed as work.
Ebenbach’s article glosses over the difficulty pornography is facing as profits shrink due to a proliferation of free versions of itself on the Web. Poets ought to at least consider what it means for their work and future that the only audience willing to read their writing wants it for free, and in its face.
