Hypi
I find critiquing terribly difficult; in my creative class we have to critique each other's prose and poems, but it's usually almost impossible for me to be honest, because then I come out like an utter p***k. It's easier on the internet though - I can be as honest as I want because it's all anonymous.
I also wonder - if I'm not an expert at writing poetry, how can I possibly have any right to criticise another's?
But this forum should be quite useful for practise...
While absolutes are foolish to apply to the whole of poetry, as in saying one poem is "perfect", while another is not, it is possible to recognize basic grades or levels of poetry.
The mind-numbingly incorrect pose of "poetry is emotion and therefore no one can say what is or isn't poetry!" is essentially a way for the brainless to pretend they have brains.
If I sit at a keyboard and press the "t"button for five minutes, because I'm pissed off and have no way to express it other than through the first random persistence I can find, then the collection of "t"s: tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt, etc, does not "become a poem" because I was outraged while pressing the "t" button.
If you disagree, and I've pissed you off, please, by all means, spend 5 minutes holding down the "t" button, print out your result and read it, as written, at your local poetry group, as your latest poem written while you were in an intensely strong, overwhelming rage!
You'll likely have to fight to finish your poem in the midst of:
1. Being treated for a seizure.
2. Being laughed at for attempting to impersonate a politician attempting to tell the truth for three minutes in a row.
3. Elected president by virtue of your persistence in the face of overwhelming stupidity and the denial of reality.
However, at no point will anyone with a
rational mind declare you "Poet!" If they do, it's my sincere hope that a third party will bring a loaded shotgun into the conversation, and reduce the discussion to ventriloquism, the shotgun being the puppet.
eek
My point is: There is a difference between dumb animal poetry written as a reflex without any thought, and poetry written with language as a consideration. Poetry requires language, just as playing football requires action. Yes, considered poetry can be savage,
and savage poetry can
also be intelligent. That's the writer's job. That's the essence. And when they overlap here, the results are
wonderful to behold.
You have the "right to criticize" by virtue of your wanting to
know something. (Even if what you want to know is, "Is this person really...REALLY...that stupid?!?" Yes, they are.) If you read a poem and you don't understand it, then it's your right to ask about it. If you
do understand it, then it's your right to ask about it, as well!
If you feel uncomfortable critiquing, then my advice, meant honestly and calmly is: don't. At least, not in the way you might be thinking of, right off the bat.
Ask questions instead, and you'll often find the answers you need. Here's the difference.
Don't say:
"Hey. You screwed up your spelling of this word here, and you repeated it forty-six times in a fifteen-line poem. Your grammar is weak and your idea didn't go anywhere. It's repetitive, boring and my pet goldfish apparently has a better grasp on its state of existence than you do on yours. Your poem went nowhere, and it took me nowhere as well. Just so I know...was that your intention?"
Instead, say:
"Is your misspelling of that word intentional? Why did you use it so many times? (At this point you can think about asking about authors, and often...whether the "poet" even reads!) Have you considered other words? If so, why did you reject them? I'd like to know, as I'm learning about poetry."
Put them on the spot, politely, but plainly.
The replies you get, using the second approach, will tell you, immediately:
1. This is a person to be taken seriously, of which there are some at this website...but...let's be real...it's not the majority.
2. This is someone whose posts to ignore: future, current and past.
It's that simple. When someone's looking for knowledge, it is here at this website.
When someone is looking to avoid learning, that too, is at this website, mixed in with the rest.
Some degree of fun comes in weeding one from the other, and the
drama comes from one group insisting that they belong in the other group, with
out effort, with
out work, with
out language, without...
poetry.
Also, sticking to threads where critiques are invited in "any" sense whatsoever, is a good idea. "Tell me what you think!" is an invitation. "This is my newest pome! Is it good?" is
also an invitation, although possibly to a beheading of a different sort than Nabokov wrote of.
stare
Have fun. It's great fun here, actually. I've been here for years, and the levels of intelligence and levels of lack of intelligence
are amazing. Just don't get caught in the never-ending drama. Stick to the writing, and you'll be cool. There are some really damned fine poets here, but if you get distracted early on, you may miss them.
surprised
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