Capitalism and poetry go hand in hand. I imagine that the first poets sold their songs and chants on an open market, traded their entertainment services for fur and weapons. But today you’re more likely to find a poet bashing the excesses of capitalism and proclaiming the virtues of socialism. But I’m not sure why.

Poetry is, above all things, about value. The value of words. The value of experience. The value of economy. The value of value. So, too, is capitalism about value and when I say that I mean more than simply the value of money.

To be a good capitalist one must be able to judge value. Intrinsic value. Extrinsic value. Potential value. Future value. It is said that investors who buy real estate to resell, stocks and bonds to hold, or businesses to flip make their money when they buy in – as opposed to when they sell. There is wisdom in this notion. After all, pay too much and the market will be cruel. Pay less than the true value of something then sell it for what it’s worth and you profit. This is the nature of the capitalist mind. Buy low, sell high.

Poetry is set upon the same principle. A poem, like a successful business, is built from nothing. Like the giant spark in God’s mind when he created the universe. Or, if you prefer, the cosmic bang at the beginning of time that unleashed the red shift.

There is no value in nothing. But add something and you have potential value. A word, a phrase, a verse … every act of creation is an act of adding value. Some elements hold more than others, but every poetic element holds some kind of intrinsic value. The extrinsic value comes in the response of the reader and time of the work remaining extant plus other noteworthy attributes such as originality and condition. An item is always worth what one person is willing to pay for it on the open market. The value is what the market will bear.

How Poets Devalue Their Own Work
Every item has value. Poets who claim that capitalism is evil do not understand the nature of value. They are essentially saying their own creativity is valueless. By insisting in equality of condition economically they are denying their own right to receive the fruits of their labor. The creation of poetry is a business. Its publishing is a business. It involves expenses, costs, investment – in time and resources. The return on the investment is directly related to how well the product is marketed and positioned within the poetry marketplace and how capable the product is of building value for itself.

I am amazed at how many “socialist” poets will give an open reading of their work then turn around and sell it to their audiences, thus engaging in acts of capitalism. I once enticed such a poet to trade chapbooks – like kind for like kind, equal value for equal value. He obliged and in doing so betrayed his own philosophy. I chuckled about it later with another poet friend of mine who was well aware of the man’s socialist views. Visit Ron Silliman’s blog, an outspoken socialist, and he offers his own poetic works for sell (and some of them are rather pricey). Do they not believe in their own philosophies?

I rather like to believe that even the socialists see the inherent value in the products of their minds. They know they are creating value with every word, with every phrase, with every execution of thought. Despite this knowledge, they devalue their work by nodding toward the philosophies of men who tear down the rights to ownership with economic heresies.

If poets don’t devalue their own work intellectually then they devalue it practically by “giving away” what can be sold. Imagine a real estate agent just letting people move into homes they are selling and staying indefinitely. When poets post their valuable works of creativity on their blogs for all to see then they are essentially devaluing the work. When poets give away chapbooks without receiving something of value in return they are devaluing their own work and the products of their imaginations. I see this every day.

One more way poets devalue their work is to publish it before it is time. By not honing their craft and patiently waiting for the work to mature, poets ensure that they squeeze out any potential value of their work before it reaches its full potential. This is reputation suicide. Do not end a poem before it reaches the pinnacle of its worth. Otherwise, you destroy any future value it can build extrinsically.

How Poets Can Save Themselves
From Value Oblivion
Invest in yourself.

The surest way to ensure that your poetry builds value is to invest in your education and your craft-building skills. Enhance your knowledge of craft, the history of poetic movements, and the styles and traditions of the past and present. More than that, however, never give away your work. Only trade value for value.

This is not a creed to establish wealth. You do not have to hype up your sales pitch to make yourself seem valuable. You just have to be genuine, unique, and creative. You must study the markets, read other poets to know what the popular trends are (so that you can follow them or rebuff them according to your own theory of poetics), and write to perfection, not satisfaction. Become a nitpicking ass over every poetic minutiae in your work. Guard every breath, every comma, every space.

Sending work out for publication is not giving it away. It is building value. When you are published – every time you are published – you are building your reputation as a poet. Future publishers see past publication credits as a testament to your worth. Future readers see a list of publication credits as value. Often, poets who publish in journals end up with book publishing contracts and those lead to further publication credits. Every new publishing credit is a new reputation- and value-building transaction. Taking this lightly is an act of devaluation in the currency of poetic economy.

The following list of principles are designed to provide a measure of economy with regard to building value – value in reputation and value in poetic execution. They are not rules, but thoughts to ponder:

1. Only send work to publications that have published poets you admire and whose poetic styles and philosophies match, or closely resemble, your own.
2. Don’t send out your poems to every contest that promises publication and a big prize
3. Read at least three times as much as you write.
4. Spend at least twice of much time revising as writing.
5. Do not give away your poems without receiving something of value in return.
6. Get your work published in a few journals before you decide to publish a book.
7. If you self-publish, edit your work violently; become a hack and slash terrorist with your own work.
8. Develop your poetic philosophy and stay true to it.
9. Understand the value of the elements of poetry and know which ones are appropriate for the circumstances.
10. Don’t get in a hurry; true value builds naturally. You can’t fake it.

People who learn to judge value make good poets and good capitalists. No need to apologize for being adept.