sack
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2003
- Posts
- 585
One of the most disheartening things I have heard since contributing to this forum is the statement from three different people (private messages) "that they no longer leave public comments for fear of criticism/ ridicule", and this in a forum that prides itself on a strong sense of "community". Being a music critic for umpteen years, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about criticism in general. The typical critic is seen as this obnoxious person that just wants to show off his superior knowledge or start trouble.
I disagree on both counts. When I see five different PC's on my poems/stories, I think of it as "five heads are better than one." Anyone in the performing arts knows that when you are too close to the situation, you really cannot be totally objective or catch little mistakes. Criticism is a simple exchange of ideas. You are no obligation to accept any criticism, and the critic is under no obligation to offer it.
There seems to be a general feeling that a newer poet should not be commenting on an "established" poet. However, there are many facets of a poem which fit nicely under the category of "common sense". Since a poem is essentially a dialogue, I always give it the "read aloud" test, and this is something anyone can do. As you read aloud, ask yourself these questions:
1. Do the sentences flow well from one line to the next?
2. Are the line breaks logical? Too choppy? Not enough breaks?
3. Is the vocabulary something a typical English speaker would use? I do not like a poem with a lot of esoteric vocabulary words that one out of ten-thousand people use in ordinary conversation. That just takes the poem away from more people, and defeats the purpose of writing it.
Another very simple thing anyone can do is ask yourself if the poem makes sense. A metaphor here and there is OK, but if you are left scratching your head after several readings, something is very, very wrong. Poems need to communicate, and if they are weighted down by their intellectual poundage, that's something the poet needs to know. The best poems speak simply, eloquently, and with as few words as possible. Eccentricity disguised as originality ruins many poems, and as a commenter/critic anyone can react to that phenomenon as well.
Instead of getting riled up by reasonable comments/criticism, I find it best to just think of it as someone else's way of viewing/making sense of the world which may or may not pertain to you. If you genuinely learn from commentary, great, if not, what have you lost?
Unfortunately, there is a small group of people in this forum that only leave positive public comments, because "that's more encouraging." I would say it has the exact opposite effect. Letting someone continue to make the same obvious mistakes poem after poem is not at all helpful. I pointed out to a poet that she had confused its and it's for MONTHS and she was very upset that noone had told her earlier. You're not being an obnoxious pain in the neck by pointing out these things. On the other hand, I think it's truly obnoxious to wax eloquent about a poem when glaring problems exist. It lulls the poet into a false sense of security, which is shattered when a more objective assessment comes along months or years later.
That is not to say you should not be encouraging or leave positive statements on poems....far from it. I always like to start with something positive or unique to the poem that moves me, not a unhelpful general positive adjective such as "awesome." And feel free to ask questions if there are sections of a poem you don't understand, or appear to make no sense at all, or contain poor word choices. As Mark Twain once said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug." If you come up with what seems to be a more interesting/appropriate word choice, put it right in a sample sentence for the poet to see. That isn't "rewriting" the poem, as some have suggested. It's just offering the poem in a new light, and who knows maybe you will have planted the seed of change in the poet's mind, or at the very least, established a talking point.
Criticism at the highest level is an art form which takes a great deal of skill and time. Instead of fighting with the critic, which will never be productive, thank him or her for making the effort to look over your poem, and move on. I can't think of many other things that would establish a stronger sense of community here than that simple gesture.
Sack A.K.A. "Einstein" (according to Tara)
I disagree on both counts. When I see five different PC's on my poems/stories, I think of it as "five heads are better than one." Anyone in the performing arts knows that when you are too close to the situation, you really cannot be totally objective or catch little mistakes. Criticism is a simple exchange of ideas. You are no obligation to accept any criticism, and the critic is under no obligation to offer it.
There seems to be a general feeling that a newer poet should not be commenting on an "established" poet. However, there are many facets of a poem which fit nicely under the category of "common sense". Since a poem is essentially a dialogue, I always give it the "read aloud" test, and this is something anyone can do. As you read aloud, ask yourself these questions:
1. Do the sentences flow well from one line to the next?
2. Are the line breaks logical? Too choppy? Not enough breaks?
3. Is the vocabulary something a typical English speaker would use? I do not like a poem with a lot of esoteric vocabulary words that one out of ten-thousand people use in ordinary conversation. That just takes the poem away from more people, and defeats the purpose of writing it.
Another very simple thing anyone can do is ask yourself if the poem makes sense. A metaphor here and there is OK, but if you are left scratching your head after several readings, something is very, very wrong. Poems need to communicate, and if they are weighted down by their intellectual poundage, that's something the poet needs to know. The best poems speak simply, eloquently, and with as few words as possible. Eccentricity disguised as originality ruins many poems, and as a commenter/critic anyone can react to that phenomenon as well.
Instead of getting riled up by reasonable comments/criticism, I find it best to just think of it as someone else's way of viewing/making sense of the world which may or may not pertain to you. If you genuinely learn from commentary, great, if not, what have you lost?
Unfortunately, there is a small group of people in this forum that only leave positive public comments, because "that's more encouraging." I would say it has the exact opposite effect. Letting someone continue to make the same obvious mistakes poem after poem is not at all helpful. I pointed out to a poet that she had confused its and it's for MONTHS and she was very upset that noone had told her earlier. You're not being an obnoxious pain in the neck by pointing out these things. On the other hand, I think it's truly obnoxious to wax eloquent about a poem when glaring problems exist. It lulls the poet into a false sense of security, which is shattered when a more objective assessment comes along months or years later.
That is not to say you should not be encouraging or leave positive statements on poems....far from it. I always like to start with something positive or unique to the poem that moves me, not a unhelpful general positive adjective such as "awesome." And feel free to ask questions if there are sections of a poem you don't understand, or appear to make no sense at all, or contain poor word choices. As Mark Twain once said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug." If you come up with what seems to be a more interesting/appropriate word choice, put it right in a sample sentence for the poet to see. That isn't "rewriting" the poem, as some have suggested. It's just offering the poem in a new light, and who knows maybe you will have planted the seed of change in the poet's mind, or at the very least, established a talking point.
Criticism at the highest level is an art form which takes a great deal of skill and time. Instead of fighting with the critic, which will never be productive, thank him or her for making the effort to look over your poem, and move on. I can't think of many other things that would establish a stronger sense of community here than that simple gesture.
Sack A.K.A. "Einstein" (according to Tara)
