The Marketing of 'Poet for Hire.'

 

so i've been out on the boulevard in front of my apartment building off and on for the past 2 months.

holding up a sign that reads 'poet for hire.'  the first five weeks were amazing -- i made around 200 dollars and was gifted a box of chocolates and a dozen roses. but the past few weeks have seen interest plummet. apparently i'm old news now. people want something different, something exciting, something for nothing. and i'm going to give it to them.

i've decided that from now on instead of sitting out front on the boulevard with my 'poet for hire' sign, i'll be holding a different sign.  today's sign will read:  'free chicken salad!'  anyone who stops will get a free bowl of chicken salad. no strings attached. and when people stop to check it out I will give them one of my 'poet for hire' business cards. they can have the chicken salad for nothing, but if they'd like a unique original poem from me they'll have to pay.  i believe that this gambit should skirt all the city ordinances about serving food w/o a license, panhandling, and sales tax, etc.  I'll only be serving cold salads, and only doing it for an hour at most.

Amy is rather cool to the whole idea. she suggested i do this over at pioneer park, a block away, because that's where the city's homeless congregate. but they don't have any money or any interest in paying for poetry. and i'm trying NOT to run a charity, but a literary business.  still and all the same, she has offered to make my signs for me.  her penmenship is much better than mine.

so we'll see how it goes.  today i'm offering chicken & brown rice salad.  Future offerings, if this thing works out, will include:

krab salad

tuna salad

3 bean salad

 beet salad

celery victor

cobb salad

macaroni salad

potato salad

 

and many others that i haven't invented yet. 

i'm really hoping this will kick start my career as 'poet for hire.'  and if not, well, i'll just enjoy improvising a different kind of salad every day with ingredients on hand!