possible to get paid to write poetry and short stories?

Yes of course. You can submit to a publisher or hire an agent to search for a publisher for you. You can also submit your short stories and poems to magazines, but some charge a fee for submitting.

For publishers, try a book called The writers and artists yearbook. It's a must for writers :)

www.writersandartists.co.uk
 
First you have to be very, very, very good at it
Second you need to have a publisher accept your work, or send it to a magazine that will pay for a short-story/poem (i.e The People's Friend)
Third you'll have to buy a lot of envelopes and prepare for a lot of rejection letters. Tissues may come in handy ;)
Fourth: Fame and Wealth around the corner
 
It's possible, but rare. If you do make money, it will probably not be enough to live off of, so have another job to pay the bills.

First you need to write and finish whatever you are working on. Then edit, edit some more, edit again, edit eight more times, take a break or two or three, edit again, edit some more, take a few days or weeks or months off, go back and edit again, edit seven more times, break, edit three more times, break, edit, edit, edit five more times, take a couple breaks, edit three more times, edit one final time, edit another time for good luck, take a final break, and edit again.

Then get a current Writer's Market guide and find any and all publishers who match your needs. Write query letters and send them out. Brace yourself for rejections. Do not give up. Even if you are rejected by every single place you send your work, find more and send more query letters out. Just do not give up. Keep in mind that it's much harder to get short stories/poems published than novels, and even novels are hard.
 
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