"In 1999 the Arts Council of England commissioned a report into the state of poetry. Rhyme And Reason, which ran to more than 180 pages, made for uncomfortable if predictable reading. Few people admitted ever to buying a poetry book and those who did said it was more likely to be by a dead poet than a live one. Contemporary poetry accounted for 3% of sales of verse, 90% of which were claimed by one publisher (Faber) and 67% by one poet, Ted Hughes. Pam Ayres was named as the nation’s fifth favourite extant poet, beloved by women and the over 45s."
Read it all at http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/book-features/poems-to-make-the-heart-sing-1.1091701
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