Why was so little of John Donne’s poetry published during his lifetime?

During his lifetime, almost none of John Donne’s poetry was published. Instead, his work was preserved in manuscript copies that circulated among a relatively small, admiring coterie of poetry lovers.1

While it was common for lyric poetry to circulate within such courtly circles before the widespread use of print, Donne’s choice to keep his poems in manuscript rather than seeking publication was a departure from the practice of poets like Edmund Spenser, who used print to actively advertise his talents. The only significant poetic works by Donne published during his lifetime were his Anniversaries, which appeared in 1611–12. His broader collection of Poems was not published until 1633 and 1635, several years after his death.213