From the Chapter One: Original Essays series: Plan B: A Poet’s Survivors Manual is a wry, wise companion for poets navigating the realities of the writing life. McIntosh blends memoir, craft insight, and hard earned humor into a manual that’s as entertaining as it is practical. How are writers to make a living if they don’t teach? McIntosh offers the answer: you need a Plan B if you want to put food on the table, wear shoes without holes in the soles, and stop living with roommates before you turn sixty. Taking us on a witty, fascinating, no-holds-barred romp through his own experiences in the world of commercial writing and publishing, McIntosh reassures us that it is possible to have a successful career as a poet while holding down day jobs that make us better writers.
“When I meet a fellow poet, whether I should or not, I can’t help wondering how they make ends meet. Here is a lithe, engaging autobiography that reveals how one poet has published his poems and pays his bills, honored his lifelong vocation as a writer while building a career outside the narrow and often elusive path of a poetry professorship in academia. These energetic narrative episodes are paired with practical craft advice and “survival tips” for poets that really apply to writers of every genre.”
–Julie Marie Wade
$4.21
