September’s been rather good for me, for the arts. Now, compared to a professional, what I’m going to say is laughable, but for me, it’s rather good.
I took part in two arts events, Konscht am Gronn, and Poets Live in Paris. They both not just paid for themselves, but made a reasonable profit. The latter grossed €100, which even covered the train fare from & to Luxembourg. That’s never happened for me before!
Poetry events need a lot to happen for books to sell well. First of all, the audience has to particularly enjoy the event, which means the poets have to read well. I have to thank my fellow poets, Rod Mengham, Marc Atkins and Kate Noakes for their performances. Kate in particular teased the audience deliciously with her delivery.
Secondly, the event itself has to work well. Everyone has to get there, enjoy things, feel comfortable, expect and want to buy poetry, and have no problems. I thank Pansy Maurer–Alverez for running a great poetry evening, and the staff of Carr’s for making such a good setting work.
But, of course, most of all, I have to thank the audience for wanting to show their appreciation, and doing so by buying my books. Thank you, everyone! :-)
There’s a video of the evening on the Paris Lit Up website. Thanks to Jason at Paris Lit Up for taking and posting it.