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> he dropped out of high school to become a poet. Not even college, high school. Really misleading/unfortunate title. As an aside, why would anyone need to dr
by dgfitz 1y ago
> he dropped out of high school to become a poet.
Not even college, high school. Really misleading/unfortunate title.
As an aside, why would anyone need to drop out of anything to become a poet?
- conception 1y agoTo spend more time on it.
- dgfitz 1y agoSpend more time on what, exactly? Writing poetry actively, all day, every day? That’s a lot of writing.
- jjallen 1y agoHow often do people become very good at something without spending the vast majority of their time on it for a long time?
- iterance 1y agoI do not think you are aware that most people's process of writing good poetry is quite involved. It's okay not to understand, but be cautious about implying that another person's artistic work could be done in a spare hour here or there between coursework. It is disrespectful to the hard work of the written word.
- eviks 1y agoIt can also involve a lot of reading and thinking, also stuff you need time for
- conception 1y agoThat’s basically what Paul Erdos did for math. People who dedicate their lives to a skill are the ones that tend to push humanity forward bit by bit.
- senderista 1y agoJoseph Brodsky dropped out of communism to become a poet, which did not amuse the authorities.
- gyomu 1y agoIn case you’re asking the question not rhetorically - this is the kind of thing you can afford to do when you have an extremely strong/privileged support system. It’s myth-making, and shouldn’t be confused with “dropping out to take care of your sick parent” or “dropping out and going to work at McDonald’s”.
- melling 1y agoI’m not familiar with the privileged support system in South Korea. Is it different than in the US or Europe? I believe Einstein dropped out of high school and traveled a bit through Italy. We definitely need a world where more young people can drop out for a few years.
- DetroitThrow 1y agoIt feels disengenuous if you're seriously stating you're not familiar with how people with stable families and familial wealth have a much larger level of freedom in their choices to pursue the arts compared the average person.
- Maxatar 1y agoI am also not familiar with how it works in South Korea, do you have any insight?
- DetroitThrow 1y agoJust curious, do you live in a capitalist country? In your country, how easy is it for someone to professionally work on their _art_ - i.e. have a career not just art-adjacent, like doing creative work as a graphic designer or animator or tattoo artist, but actually their own art, such as original paintings, poetry, or novels - which pays the entirety of their bills (presuming their bills actually include rent, food, transportation)? In your country, is their any pressure on an individual working in the arts to work another job? Can they sustain a family? Do artists typically live with their parents or receive familial support until they hit it big? Do they live out the starving artist stereotype or are they given a less meager existence? Of the people that grew up poor that you know, do you know how many of them wanted to be artists, but had to take care of family or their own survival ahead of pursuing their art? Of people you don't consider wealthy growing up, how many of them could afford a year at a prestigious private school for a year ahead of high school? (Relevant to the author here) If you can answer these, it may give you some insight on SK. I can give you more if that's not enough.
- dhosek 1y agoI was thinking that this was my path, I was a Math major (well actually Math-English double major) and I dropped out to focus on English. Of course I never got a Field Medal (or much success as a poet for that matter).
- mmooss 1y agoSounds great. You don't need a Fields Medal for life to be worthwhile, or it's hopeless for all of humanity.