W.H. Auden told people he met in casual situations that he was a medieval historian. He found that most people didn't want to know more but didn't treat him as a liar.
In NYC at the poetry parties, if you had to explain that you were a poet at those parties, it was a very bad sign. Donald Hall's wife was introduced as "a poet, too," to a certain amount of smiling.
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mouseworks
At first it looked like he was wearing a clown suit...
In NYC at the poetry parties, if you had to explain that you were a poet at those parties, it was a very bad sign. Donald Hall's wife was introduced as "a poet, too," to a certain amount of smiling.