<![CDATA[Susan’s Substack]]>https://susanazarporterfield.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ECfJ!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdd01b129-3a72-4964-b1ed-b3e6a51de4b0_480x640.jpegSusan’s Substackhttps://susanazarporterfield.substack.comSubstackMon, 10 Aug 2026 16:46:26 GMT<![CDATA[Art Assumes an Audience]]>https://susanazarporterfield.substack.com/p/art-assumes-an-audiencehttps://susanazarporterfield.substack.com/p/art-assumes-an-audienceMon, 06 Jul 2026 21:02:59 GMTI’m perplexed when people say that they write only for themselves, if they bother to edit. Crucial clause. Art assumes an audience. It always has. It’s sociable. It connects us. You may never show what you’ve written to a single soul. Doesn’t matter. Your audience is the writers you’ve read in your past who’ve influenced you, and because of them, some voice in your head/heart is telling you that the thing you just wrote would be better if you just changed this one word or put it here or used a comma instead of a colon. That little, inner voice is experience of reading others. The others, i.e., the canon or the writers-who-have-come-before-you, are your teachers and your audience. You write because of them, to some extent. And, to some extent, for them.

If you don’t edit, however, and you don’t care about showing your writing to others, then I can better understand that you write just for you.

But I think when people say “I only write for myself,” what they may really be saying is “I’m afraid.”

That, I get. It’s damned scary. Writing poetry is an opportunity for failure on a daily basis. And poetry matters. It matters a lot. That’s why.

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