Writing poetry is a popular hobby, especially amongst internet writers and bloggers. However, poetry is an ancient art form, rooted in imagery, and many poets make a career out of their prose.
Free Places to Share Poetry
http://www.poetrysoup.com/
http://allpoetry.com/
http://www.poem.org/
Writing Poetry as a Hobby
Many people enjoy putting pen to paper, writing a limerick, prose, rhyming lines of rhythmic metered words to express emotion. Poetry is usually about emotion of some sort, evoking it through written imagery. Writing is a universal means of purging the heart, and poetry is an artistic way to do so. There are many different types and styles of poetry, but the average hobbyist poet uses free verse, or rhyming free verse.
Writing Poetry for Profit
Choosing the life of a poet for a career is one that is not likely to lead to riches. Poetry in the publishing industry is what is known as a 'hard sale', because, while many love to write it, not nearly as many enjoy reading poetry. Additionally, in the online world, poetry is hard to optimize for search engines, so it makes it difficult to gain the larger readerships that other types of writing can draw.
Still, there are the rare breakout poets who become best selling poets, award winning poets, and poet laureates. Through a combination of payments for published poetry, poetry books, and poetry awards from poetry contests, these writers of poetry can eek out a livable wage with their writing.
