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Drawing from in-depth qualitative research of poetry communities in New York City and Toronto, Canada, and grounded in theories of gift relations and Bourdieu's conception of fields of literary production (1996), this article argues that the sustainability of the arts must include visions of sustainability that extend beyond the economic if they are to be true to the internal experience and definitions of fields of artistic production. This article argues that relations among poets can be understood as exemplars of a gift economy and that these gift relations among poets contribute to the sustainability of this artistic field and career. A model of how gift relations are patterned among poetry communities is proposed to more clearly articulate the patterns of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]