The Organist
Give Everybody Everything: The Financial Life of Bernadette Mayer
The life of a poet is rich with meaning and beauty. But the financial life of a poet is decidedly less rich. The poet Bernadette Mayer is a case study in how literary influence does not translate into income.
By Andrew Leland • • 43m ListenIf poetry makes nothing happen, it also makes very little in the way of income. Take the acclaimed poet Bernadette Mayer. Often aligned with the Language Poets, Mayer overcame entrenched sexism to establish herself as one of the most influential poets of her generation. At 73, she’s still producing work. And yet she only made about $17,000 last year. That’s hardly enough to live on, even after Mayer and her partner moved out of New York City.
Tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk talk about Universal Basic Income as a fix for increasing automation. But could poetry — culturally necessary but essentially unmarketable — provide an even more compelling argument for UBI? Some minimal allowance might deliver poets like Mayer from financial ruin. What do the rest of us lose when poets can no longer afford to pursue their life’s work?
Produced by Rachel James, in collaboration with The Creative Independent, a resource of emotional and practical guidance for artists. Special thanks to Harry Dodge and Callie Gardner.
The Committee on Poetry, founded by Allen Ginsberg, is still around. There’s a small group of poets who have organized the “Friends of Bernadette Mayer Fund” that coordinates donations to the Committee, which then gives the money to Mayer.
You can find a link to the fund here.
Music credits: Ahmad Jamal, PoincianaSun Ra, Someone Else's WorldJimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley, Steve Swallow, In The Mornings Out ThereEric Dolphy, Booker Little, TenderlyBADBADNOTGOOD, To YouBill Evans, Peace PieceDavid Murray, Milford Graves Under & Over
