Being Charitable

     The Academy of American poets is a New York charity with the goal of promoting poets and their work through both financial and educational aid. Founded in 1934 as a nonprofit organization by Marie Bullock, who was worried about the state of affairs concerning poets in America. The academy was the first to introduce a cash prize for poetry in the United States. Currently, they have more than 8,000 individual members/contributors.
    Poetry is dying in America. Most may not actually care due to the lack of interest in it, although that is precisely why it's death is so quickly approaching. The problem is, poets aren't the only ones who can produce poetry. Writers, directors, actors, playwrights, musicians; they all are capable of producing poetry in their field of art. But they too are losing their poetic skill. Popular music is now Wiz Khalifa and Mumford and Sons. The time of Jim Morrison and Neil Young is over. Popular movies are Avengers and Minions. Kubrick and Herzog have fallen into nonrecognition by the general public. Popular books are Fifty Shades of Gray and The Hunger Games. Where have Steinbeck and Faulkner gone? They left with the poetry.
     Life is harder than ever for poets in the modern world. And the reason is quite simply, how can you make money off of the least popular art? A successful movie, book, or play can make millions. When is the last time you've heard of a poet on the news? Or, even read a poem from a recent, well known poet? This is the sad reality that faces those wishing to go down that particular path of art. Poetry is the only form of art that one can't make millions off of in 2016. This is precisely why a charity that funds them is so important.