Nope

I can’t remember the last time I wanted to quit a book at like 100 pages, forced myself to finish it, and felt good about that choice. Basically never happens! If the first act/20% isn’t for me, the rest almost definitely won’t be.

ALSO, just because I DNF a book does NOT mean I think it’s a “bad book.” I just think it’s not working for me, and maybe I can say why and have decent points, but who cares? My 5 star is your DNF. Books, man.

It’s honestly amazing to me that poetry presses/magazines/etc survive at all. But I feel like the writing world in general is full of stuff like book prize scams—little ways aspiring authors are used to subsidize the industry.

I totally agree. I think “accessible” is a good goal and doesn’t have to mean one particular form of narrative poetry. It’s more people are intimidated, like you said. As if poetry was “too hard” and can’t actually be fun (which it definitely is).

The incentives in the poetry world are like, write poems to impress this tiny cohort of editors and other writers. Hope someone reads your work maybe! I’m honestly sad that poetry doesn’t leak into my world more often. Because it basically never does! I have to actively seek it out (and still do).

There is so much good stuff out there. Why struggle through something you don’t like? That whole “I HAVE to finish” thing is odd

This basically means: no matter how good your book is, if you're not marketing it in a way that makes readers want to check it out, then nobody will bother opening it. Your cover gets them in. Your book makes them fans.