And yet late capitalistic Britain really hasn't found much use for poetry, even the most avant-garde visual artist can expect a certain degree of perceived success, why this is I don't know; visual art, like poetry is a transmitter of ideas, perhaps by being made up of words poetry is more dangerous, or less. What poetry there is in receipt any sort of attention or funding is very conservative compared to the visual arts. Nobody seems to want to pay for the poetic equivalent of cutting a cow in half and throwing it into a tank of formaldehyde.

The problem is that few people outside poetry and a fair number within english poetry have no idea what a good poem looks or sounds like. In music this trait is far less evident, there are few bands who can't play their instruments & make a success of it. The poetry scene is sadly replete with performance/retiree/vanity publishing neo-wordsworthians who haven’t read widely enough to evaluate their own work performing it to a largely bewildered audience. Perhaps writing is too easy; after all no special equipment appears to be necessary. This has lead to the proliferation of amateurs & unfortunately adds to the negative impression that poetry & poets project.

Luckily there are people in the audiences of poetry nights who know what they like & are searching out some genuinely original and passionate voices, & likewise poets who by instinct or inclination go that extra mile to learn their craft & write their innermost to produce good work. Poetry demands a critical faculty which is something acquired through effort, something which Globalisation/ Mass media/ consumer society doesn't want you to have. In the other art forms, & in general you have to sift through the bullshit to get to the good stuff & poetry is no different.