"Writing is work!"

Last year, when I traveled to the UK as a fellow of a “writers-in-residence” program, I was asked by a lady (an officer at the passport control section of the Hethrew airport in London), why I did not receive an work visa but just a tourist one, because she said and repeated with the most natural air in the world: “Writing is work! Writing is work!” I answered her approximately this way: “I do not know why they did not give me an work permit visa, madam, but I like very much what you think about writing.” That moment, apart it was a nice welcome to the UK, made me think once again on the controversial nature of poetry. Does poetry is a matter of work or just inspiration? I ask myself this question because I know how much to write a poem depends on inspiration. Does education (creative writing courses etc.) could replace the talent? Could someone become a poet just by following his own ambition to become one? I know that writing prose, for example, can earlier be named “work”, but poetry is something else. What exactly makes someone spend so long time with poetry? It is merely rare that a poet earn money by writing poetry. Writing poetry is also not very advantageous in terms of social relationships, because the status of a poet isolates somehow that poet. Neither the success can be a reason, as a poet never could reach the celebrity of a pop star. So, what makes someone continue writing poetry after finding all these uncomfortable realities? And what makes me continue?

Things to think about… Later…