A Working Poet Explains How He Writes, Performs, And Pays The Bills

He calls himself Virus the Poet, and the name is the point: take something with a negative meaning and flip it into art that spreads in a better way. I sat down with Viral Gore to talk about what it looks like to build a modern poetry career that lives both online and on real stages, with real people, and real stakes.We got into why poetry became his most natural channel for expression, how spoken word connects to music and rap lyrics, and why he keeps most poems short to match today’s attention span. We also talked about the platforms shaping discovery right now, including TikTok poetry, Instagram poets, and BookTok, plus the quiet trend I keep hearing about: Gen Z feeling phone fatigue and drifting back to physical books and bookstores.Then we went behind the scenes on the business of being a working poet: pitching venues, booking speaking engagements, teaching workshops, applying for grants, negotiating performance fees, and expanding beyond book sales with merchandise. Virus also shared his creative workflow for catching ideas fast using iPhone voice notes, the Notes app, and drafts on his computer, along with his belief that relatability is the thread that helps readers feel less alone. We wrapped with what’s next for him, including Volume Two, more poetic visuals, and continued experimenting across audio platforms.Send us Fan MailSupport the show📬 JOIN THE NEWSLETTERThe Storyteller Quest is  a weekly letter on writing,publishing, and the business of books.Subscribe, and I'll send you Traditional, Self, or Hybrid? —11 pages on what each publishing path really costs, plus a7-question worksheet that tells you which one is yours.Subscribe here.