Confessions of a Pseudo-Poet

[sophia jane]

I love to write poetry. The words start and they just happen. I don't think about them most times, but let them come on their own. Almost like giving birth in a way, I'm just the vessel- they were there all along and they pop out whole. Of course, I don't work nearly as hard writing poems as I did having my kids.
So when I'm done with a poem, I'm done with it. What I mean is, I seldom edit, try to change meter or rhyme (I avoid rhyme actually), try to give my poetry any kind of form whatsoever. In fact, I would venture to say that I don't know how.

Does this mean I'm not really a poet?

I look at this forum and I am so envious of all the talent and tossing around of ideas. I am so jealous of people who participate in challenges and come up with great poems, or people who revise and edit their poems until they gleam. That's part of why I avoid this forum so much. I feel like a fraud!

So what I want to know is- is there any hope for me? Anyone else like this? Any thoughts would be great, even if you tell me to shut up and go back to the AH.

SJ

 

[BooMerengue]

Sophie! (May I call you that?)

Please don't go away. There are no rules here for what is acceptable. Please post, and comment, and join in the Challenges. You'll have fun, meet nice people, meet some jerks, learn new things and generally have fun! Isn't that just like real life?

Stay... and feel welcomed!

Boo

 

[Tathagata]

I love to write poetry. The words start and they just happen. I don't think about them most times, but let them come on their own. Almost like giving birth in a way, I'm just the vessel- they were there all along and they pop out whole. Of course, I don't work nearly as hard writing poems as I did having my kids.
So when I'm done with a poem, I'm done with it. What I mean is, I seldom edit, try to change meter or rhyme (I avoid rhyme actually), try to give my poetry any kind of form whatsoever. In fact, I would venture to say that I don't know how.

Does this mean I'm not really a poet?

I look at this forum and I am so envious of all the talent and tossing around of ideas. I am so jealous of people who participate in challenges and come up with great poems, or people who revise and edit their poems until they gleam. That's part of why I avoid this forum so much. I feel like a fraud!

So what I want to know is- is there any hope for me? Anyone else like this? Any thoughts would be great, even if you tell me to shut up and go back to the AH.

SJ

sure you're a poet
I used to write very much like you do
i still do sometimes
I thought I was preserving the integrity of the original thought
A few of the kinder poets here ( Tara, Ange , Pat) told me No, you are lazy
heh
and this was partly true.

The longer you write and the more you read...you begin to see that even a little editing can make the poem jump, or roll, or stab, and not lose the original spirit.

Some poetry looks as if it was just written down and left...but it has such an impact.
it looks easy but actually the poet may have gone through 20 or 30 word choices until the perfect word ( to his or her ear) slid home and sealed it.

Stick around and keep writing , keep reading and I'll bet you start going back to change a word, or a phrase and you'll see editing, even though it's a pain in the ass, can make a world of difference.


and if you never edit anything
yes you are still a poet

 

[sophia jane]

Thanks for the welcome.

I may not participate in any challenges yet, but I'll lurk a bit at least.

SJ

 

[rikaaim]

I love to write poetry. The words start and they just happen. I don't think about them most times, but let them come on their own. Almost like giving birth in a way, I'm just the vessel- they were there all along and they pop out whole. Of course, I don't work nearly as hard writing poems as I did having my kids.
So when I'm done with a poem, I'm done with it. What I mean is, I seldom edit, try to change meter or rhyme (I avoid rhyme actually), try to give my poetry any kind of form whatsoever. In fact, I would venture to say that I don't know how.

Does this mean I'm not really a poet?

I look at this forum and I am so envious of all the talent and tossing around of ideas. I am so jealous of people who participate in challenges and come up with great poems, or people who revise and edit their poems until they gleam. That's part of why I avoid this forum so much. I feel like a fraud!

So what I want to know is- is there any hope for me? Anyone else like this? Any thoughts would be great, even if you tell me to shut up and go back to the AH.

SJ

I feel exactly the same way. When I write a poem the words just spill onto the page, but, that's also why they look like they just spilled onto the page.

To be honest I'm not even sure how to polish my poems up. I know one of the keys is to read a lot, so I've been kindly told.

Most of the times I just feel like a hacker. Hacking my way through a medium to pronounce myself a poet. To be fair, I feel the same way about my writings.

I do know that I am a poet though. Everything in me screams poetry. The way I even write a story is poetic. I'm a hopeless romantic and a lover of words. I can't help it. I do agree with a previous statement that called the person on laziness. I am lazy.

That doesn't not make me less of a no poet. ???

I think I used enough double negatives to make that postive. I know it's postively confusing.

I know in my heart that I'm a poet. I just need to work at it. That's why I've been lurking here until I feel comfortable enough to start coming out of my poetry shell and fly like the butterfly.

 

[Liar]

There are many a ways to write a poem, and none of them wrong, as long as the words jotted down correlate with the thoughts jolted around inside your head. You may have words that just pop out, wherwe I have to poop mine out, but if it feels like it should in the end, then yeah. Poetry it is.

Then of course, I'm just a con with a tinker box of letters.

 

[WickedEve]

I love to write poetry. The words start and they just happen. I don't think about them most times, but let them come on their own. Almost like giving birth in a way, I'm just the vessel- they were there all along and they pop out whole. Of course, I don't work nearly as hard writing poems as I did having my kids.
So when I'm done with a poem, I'm done with it. What I mean is, I seldom edit, try to change meter or rhyme (I avoid rhyme actually), try to give my poetry any kind of form whatsoever. In fact, I would venture to say that I don't know how.

Does this mean I'm not really a poet?

I look at this forum and I am so envious of all the talent and tossing around of ideas. I am so jealous of people who participate in challenges and come up with great poems, or people who revise and edit their poems until they gleam. That's part of why I avoid this forum so much. I feel like a fraud!

So what I want to know is- is there any hope for me? Anyone else like this? Any thoughts would be great, even if you tell me to shut up and go back to the AH.

SJ

Keep writing that way if you enjoy it. Then spend some time here on the board. Eventually, you may want to go back and take a look at your earlier work and try to see where it can be improved. Don't rush it, but give it a try.

 

[PatCarrington]

Keep writing that way if you enjoy it. Then spend some time here on the board. Eventually, you may want to go back and take a look at your earlier work and try to see where it can be improved. Don't rush it, but give it a try.

ditto.

isn't this a much nicer thread, evie?

 

[WickedEve]

ditto.

isn't this a much nicer thread, evie?

It's nice but there's wench calling going on in the other thread. Wench! I mean... you can't find a good wench thread nowadays.

 

[Tathagata]

It's nice but there's wench calling going on in the other thread. Wench! I mean... you can't find a good wench thread nowadays.

shall I call you wenchypoo??

 

[WickedEve]

shall I call you wenchypoo??

Sounds too much like witchypoo on H.R. Puffinstuff.
Anyone else remember witchypoo?

 

[Tathagata]

Sounds too much like witchypoo on H.R. Puffinstuff.
Anyone else remember witchypoo?

do you have stripey socks and a cool hat??