DrDark wrote:
I believe that these book signings had the unusual restriction of any comment or question addressed to Polly needed to be only about the book and the poetry. Since she's still primarily thought of as a musician, It seems these don't really qualify as 'normal' meet-and-greets in my opinion.
The book signings being about the book only is just an invention of her publisher, I think. They just want to sell as many books as possible, obviously, and if word spreads that she'll sign anything they won't sell that many poetry books anymore, since poetry is just not that popular. In reality, things weren't that strict. She refused to sign LPs and CDs at first, saying that the night was all about the book, but in the end she caved in and did sign other stuff as well (for those who were still there, that is, but there were quite a lot). And she did answer my questions about touring, quite elaborately to my surprise. That's the only time I met her, and others may have other experiences, but I do know quite a few fans, and I've never heard a story of her being rude, no stories that I should take seriously anyway. I mean, you can hardly expect her to look everyone she passes by in her life into the eyes asking them how they're doing, can you.
If I look at my circle of friends and acquintances, I do know a lot of people who like her music. They may not be huge fans (although some are, I do know of 2 Polly's named after her), but they appreciate her music very much. But maybe it depends on where you're from, or how old you are...
So I don't feel like she should be more popular. And I kind of like the fact that she's not hugely popular like, let's say Eddie Vedder or someone like him. Have you ever seen the lines of people at the hotels on their tours? I really really don't wish that to anyone. I think she sells enough and gets enough recognition to do the things she wants to do and I'm sure she's happy with that. And I'm happy with that too, thank God it's still possible to watch a concert from the first row without having to camp overnight.
I guess you do need a liking for darness and arty stuff to like her music, and maybe the times are such that most people just need lightheartedness to balance national and international politics and economics. Just give them bread and games and they'll forget about the bad stuff happening. But as I said, I don't see that in my circle of friends, fortunately.