Ken Kakareka

Twitter War

 
I created
a Twitter acct.
in 2023 –
late to
the game
at the request
of my
new publisher
for
marketing purposes.
I’d been trying
to put it
off
for as
long as
I could
but my publisher
was a good egg
and I didn’t
want to
make him
regret
taking me on.
My first tweet
received
mounds
of backlash
from the
writing community.
My wife and I
had just had
a newborn
so I posted
a picture
with the caption:
feels almost
as good
as holding
your own
birthed book. 
The writing community
lost it.
They had
never failed
more
to see humor.
This is despicable,
one “poet”
wrote.
Your poetry
is despicable, sir.
What a lousy joke!
another novelist
asserted.
Your prose
is so lousy
it puts me
to sleep!
I couldn’t
respond
to everyone
I wanted
to.
It would’ve
taken
forever.
Instead,
I doubled down
with a
follow-up
tweet:
Holding
your own book
is better,
I’ve decided!

One thought on “Ken Kakareka

  1. Are you serious???? I can’t believe you got that kind of response ALTHOUGH I was on Twitter for a few years and finally left last year in favor of Facebook. The poets on Twitter tend to be young 20-somethings who like to complain about the business rather than pay their dues. The poets on Facebook are older and have been in the small press longer, which makes them more experienced in the poetry and book business (i. e., less complaining, more kindness and support). As for Twitter, you have my sympathy, dear friend. Lol!!

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