blueprints

250 | toolkit: sandpaper, wallpaper, and paint
b. Ask friends and potential audience members who are
interested in poetry whom they would like to hear.
c. Visit online sites such as www.youtube.com, www.poets.
org, and www.poetryfoundation.org to see and hear poets
reading their own poems.
2. Develop and articulate a process for deciding which poets to
invite.
a. Develop baseline criteria for inclusion.
b. Consider how you will respond to audience and community
needs, ensure board and community buy-in, and
enhance aesthetic, racial and ethnic, gender, and other
kinds of diversity.
3. Tell the poet what you have in mind (a reading, a conference, a
statewide tour), and ask if he or she participates in such events.
B. If the poet isn’t interested, thank her for her time and let her go.
C. If the poet is interested, negotiate.
1. If he refers you to an agent, go to D.
2. If not, and if you have no money to offer, this is the time to say
so and offer any other persuasive information or incentives.
3. If you have a set fee or an amount budgeted, say what it is.
4. Tell the poet what will be involved. Be as specific as you can:
for example, a reading, Q&A with students and community
members, and dinner; morning workshops for three days, a
reading, and eight manuscript consultations; readings at five
venues in four towns over three days, driving across beautiful
but empty and forlorn landscapes.
5. If the poet says no and you have some wiggle room, either in
the amount you’re offering or in the amount of work/time on
the ground you’re asking for, let her know that and find out if
she wants to continue to negotiate.
6. If not, express your disappointment in positive terms (you want
the poet to know she’s really admired in your town, you hope
you can do something another time) and graciously hang up.
D. If the poet refers you to an agent, give up on any idea that he might
come for nothing or very little. If you still want to move forward, get
the agent’s phone number and follow up immediately, while you
have momentum.
1. Let the agent know which poet interests you.