Poets are the person who writes poetry that is rhymed or free verse. They interpret and represent a client's creative needs into written prose. They also adapt the text to accommodate musical requirements of composer and singer; write narrative, dramatic, lyric, or other types of poetry for publication. Often working for publishing companies and advertising agencies, poets write poetry books, songs, advertising jingles and verses for greeting cards.
Candidates must have the sharp and good imagination for becoming a good Poet as only imagination works for writing poetry. It is said that Poet sitting on the floor and talking about the sky, river, mountain and the like other things; it is only his imagination working not his body at the time.
Poet Eligibility
The minimum educational requirement for becoming a Poet is Bachelor’s Degree, at least, with good knowledge of English literature, composition, creative writing and poetic structure classes.
Poet Required Skills
- Poets must possess an excellent understanding of language, poetic voice, style and structure.
- They should have a diverse writing portfolio and good presentation skills to gain clients, so the ability to be creative under pressure is helpful.
- They also have the ability to simplify lengthier stories or condense them into poetry; choose subject matter and perform extensive research.
- They should be able to draw from personal experiences to create poetry and take creative writing classes to enhance knowledge.
How to become a Poet?
One has to follow below-given steps for becoming a Poet:
Step 1
After passing the 12th class the aspiring candidates need to go for a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature, Composition, Creative Writing and Poetic Structure. They can have admission in various institutions in the country for this purpose. At some of the colleges/universities, admission is given on the basis of entrance tests or somewhere 12th class marks/percentages also matter.
Bachelor’s Degree Courses:
- B.A. (English Literature and Theatre Studies)
- B.A. (English Literature)
- B.A. (Hons.) (English Literature)
Step 2
After passing Bachelor’s Degree, they can go for Master Degree courses as it is considered more pro-profession for poetry. After passing it, they can go for further research degrees like M.Phil. and PhD. In this profession, candidates’ career value increases with increasing his/her educational qualification.
Postgraduate/Research Degree Courses:
- M.A. (English Literature and American Studies)
- M.A. (English Literature)
- M.Phil. (English Literature)
- PhD (English Literature)
Note: For Master’s Degree courses, they must be passed in Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature or related subjects. For the PhD degree, they must be passed in post graduation courses with at least 50% marks in the very subject.
Institutes offering Courses for Poet
- Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
- Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh
- University of Delhi (DU), Delhi
- Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Baroda
Poet Job Description
They also write narrative, dramatic, or lyric poetry for magazines, books, and other publications like choosing subject matter and suitable form to express personal feeling and individual experience, or to narrate story or event.
Poet Career Prospects
After having a good academic career, they have a lot of places for jobs like the popularity of venues for spoken word poetry and online poetry blogs. They have become new revenue resources for poets.
The best profession is teaching in colleges/universities; tuition classes for poetry; English teaching missionaries and the like.
Poet Salary
The salary of Poet is depended on his/her experience or educational qualification which vary from person to person. At some of the places, Poets are paid on hour basis or project basis. Poet is also a Lecturer/Professor; there the monthly salary is ranging from Rs.30,000 to Rs.35,000 in starting. It increases as they get teaching experiences in their career.
