Poetry’s Lost Amateur Hour

May 21, 2014 | 1 book mentioned

Though no big name today, early 20th-century poet Florence Ripley Mastin published prolifically in her lifetime – a dozen times in Poetry, more than 90 in the New York Times. Poetry’s  Ruth Graham argues that the successes of Mastin, an untrained amateur, say more about her times than her talent. These days, amateur poets today benefit from refrigerator poetry sets, numerous poetry apps and sites, and the infinite community of the internet, but the Times has long excised poetry from its pages. In the archives, Patrick Wensink meets and analyzes those who doggedly pursue poetry these faded days.

is an intern for The Millions. She's worked as a management consultant for various American and European companies and one African government. Her website is eliseliu.com and she tweets @eliseliu.