Vintage Champagne: An Interview

[Angeline]

Yes champagne1982 is pure vintage, a writer of rare and superior quality and the poet with the curviest avatar of them all. If you are newer to the forum you may not know her. Perhaps you've been here for a while and think you know her pretty well. Either way you should know her better. Really, you should.

Champ has been writing at Lit for eleven plus years. Like so many poets here, her current submissions count (116 stories and poems) is but a fraction of her actual output. Some of her poems have moved on for publication or work-shopping elsewhere, but even a 15-minute investment in reading her page yields gem after gem of staggering variety. There is no challenge she won't attempt, no form she doesn't master, no subject she's unwilling to try. She's incredibly versatile and as strong a writer of prose as poetry: Her short fiction contributions with the Snippettsville Group resulted in an incredible 17 Editor Awards. That equates to approximately 80 percent of their total output. Think on that.

Ms. C has participated in contests, forum gunfights (as participant and judge, respectively), same title challenges, even numerous challenges she initiated. She has composed poems in every category Lit allows and even found a way to subvert the submissions category system when she wrote an epic poem, Halloween Bill, the only poem at Lit that ever made it into a story and poetry contest simultaneously. She has been nominated for Most Influential Poet (2007 Readers' Choice Awards), deservedly so, and imho not only for her poems but for her ability to offer some of the most focused, detailed feedback you can find here. If you can take critique, she can take a thorough but fair look at your poem and find ways to improve it. And she walks the walk: her poetry submissions permit comments only, no votes.

Suffice it to say she is a go-getter with a pure joy for learning and a real warrior of a competitor. Maybe I sound like I'm hyping her, but I've known her well for a very long time and feel strongly about these claims I'm making. If you get to know her, you'll see what I mean!

Champ has so much writing here in so many places it's hard to know where to begin, but since she recently opened her Retrospective thread, let's start with her Zodiac poems. The original challenge was to write a poem for a zodiac sign. Champ wrote for them all.

The scales of Justice are true
Balanced on a sapphire
In a virgin's hand.
Harmony and peace
Rule over your glimmering light
Venus, true blue, in the evening sky.

excerpted from Libra in Balance, Zodiac Poems
~

The tuneless hum that comes
from an age before the electronic
buzz polluted silence, snuck
into the cottage summer and Granny's
throat like the chirp of tiny
tree toads hiding by the wood pile.
As if that would save them

excerpted from Just Another Steinbeck Summer
~

Don't you see what I want
as I bend over
to recover my stockings
from the arm of the chair?

From the arm of the chair
your fingers curled around
while your muscles
clenched into tight knots.

Clenched into tight knots
because you pushed deep
inside the personal, where
no other man has ever touched.

excerpted from Look Closely
~

I plead my heart be still,
In poorly pondered wrath
To strike not, those upon this path,
Anger at a fool bodes ill.
They only see the bilious foam
Lathered and frothing on whitened lips
Or the ugly pout from which sullen acid drips.
The centaur calls the swampy Styx your home.

excerpted from Dis Temper

I'm going to start off by saying thank you, Champ, for agreeing to get in front of the footlights. You know I'm glad you did. Tell me, please, what sparked your first interest in the poetry world here? Did you find your way here from the Author's Hangout or was it more a simultaneous thing? And what made you choose poetry over prose for the long haul?

 

[Neonurotic]

There are only a few people I wholly associate Literotica with and to me they are Literotica. Without them there isn't a PF & D forum. Champ is one of those special people here that I feel that affinity with. Champy's born on date for Literotica is a few months longer than mine so she's always been here. When I dropped off the net for awhile and came back, I hoped she'd still be around. I wasn't disappointed she was still here.

I'm glad Champ has kept her poetry up so readers, be it a novice poet or a Lit veteran can see her progression, evolving to a fine poet. There are also lessons to be learned along with appreciating her poetry on her submission page or right here in the PF & D, her history goes back to 2002.

Along with poetry, she writes stories and not all poets can say they own a well-rounded sub page. Though some here don't care about the story side the house even though this is a porn board. I could never fathom the disdain by many in the poetry side so yes, she is a versatile writer. And dammmn, she is that, versatile. She can throw a poem down in response to one you wrote in the All a Sudden, Suddenly thread almost as soon as you hit submit, that and her poem being a good one too. Champy amazes me.

For her stories, I've particularly liked, Winsome Romance, which does contain poetry. She has many, many poems I've enjoyed and I couldn't pick my absolute favorite so I've favorited her as an author/poet so I can I read her whenever I want.

And I do, often.

Champ, you have a some series in your poetry list, like the Zodiac and the Seven Deadly and have participated in many, many poetry challenges which is a lot of writing. Have you found it arduous? And you're a wellspring, I'd like to know where you get it all from?

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Just wanted to say Champ you've always been here for me and I've seen your sense of humour shining out! Do you remember the thread where we had to make 4 statements only one of which was true? I remember and it still makes me smile I will think out some special questions for you and will be back

 

[champagne1982]

Well, to begin, I became an online alias way back when VbBs were just something nerds and government people were the only participants in discussions, and those were usually short and sent via Oracle 2.1 and of obscure content.

Yes, I lied. I'm not a 20 something. I had my reasons and they were only babes at the time so I worked very hard at remaining in character, but I often sorrowed that I couldn't open my reality up to those of you I am so much in love with and who have shared (albeit obliquely) in many of my trials and tests. You have no idea what that 30/30 thread meant to me when I was confined to my bed because of a blood clot... remember?

2007-1-25

In desperation for a topic, the poet sees her toes.

I don't know how in hell
I'm supposed to write
when all I have are four walls
with the same marketplace collage
hanging on it, a patterned quilt,
a vase and my toes to look at. Lovely
toes that they are, they are still
the same ten I've been looking
at all my life and definitely
those I've watched this past week.

I don't want to seem ungrateful
for the company my toes keep
with me but I have to say
that their stares are starting
to creep me out. The way
they nail me with their cuticles
and explain that a pedicure
is a small price to pay in return
for the way I walk all over them.
I can only whisper that I've
been kind to them lately.​

I really began to use the Internet in a useful way when I first learned of my narrowed aortic valve. I found a community there, full of support and reassurance so eventually, out of a slightly unhealthy inclination to cyber sex, I discovered erotic chat rooms. Thankfully, that stuff wears thin fairly quickly and the computer literate move on to other interests.

Anyway, I came to Lit chat first. I was a feelthy cybernetic tease... It was on Yahoo! chat that I was pointed to Literotica and at first I just created a page to throw those early rhymers on. Then I found the poets. Boo and a couple of others... Syd of the Hot Tub and NotSoAverageGina were a couple that I remember. I even frequented Ange and Lauren's little Lit Salon sometimes, but they were never "in". So, chat rooms, then submitting poems, the AH and stories, followed closely to this small corner and those I feel most comfortable with, the Poets.

The original moderators here (Lauren, Eve, Angeline) were some of the most witty and well, literate, people I'd had the luck to encounter in my online frolics. At first, they were a little closed but with intelligent feedback and dogged involvement with participation on the board and with submissions, I became as much of a fixture as the other constants we know and love.

So I think I’ve answered the first two of Angeline’s questions and to address the third; I didn’t choose poetry; I’ve always been a poet, of sorts. I remember that one of my first poems (which I sadly don’t have) was written in Grade One. The principle had a gallery wall outside of his office and my poem made it up onto the wall. It was about a lonely snowman that is warmed by the family laughter that spilled out of the windows with the light from inside of an evening. So, perhaps the incident set me up for always loving the vignette of a poem. Poems vs stories … poetry always says it all .

 

[champagne1982]

Hello Neo! I'm so glad you've popped in to get me gabbing about the process. We all know that writing with facility is a fallacy << poetry worm! >> but when words start landing into a poem, it's like a flood that no levee can hold back. Right now, I haven't been making new scribbles, in fact I haven't created anything in a while. This is more arduous to me than writing every day and maybe I need to start with 7 in 7 and work my way into a 30 in 30. I'm just out of the daily writing habit and I feel it.

The Poetry Survivor was a tough one, and I died. There were a number of keepers out of that challenge -- like dresser drawers and Real Critics Don't Buy Tickets, to name but two, so a small success could be drawn out of that failure. I'm not sure if it was something I'd call arduous, though. It certainly was a tough one.

My sources for things to write about are as obvious as sitting here, answering this post with my dog lying on the floor beside me, snoring.

Not a growler by nature tho' he rumbles
as if a bit of nimbus crept between the black
of his coat and the sky to create static
and thunder every time he breathes.​

Another inspiration, even though you may not attribute it to this persona, is my family. My kids and husband stir me to happy poems about where we live and how I see it. My daughter teases me about my petunias, I love them, but sadly, they're as neglected as my poetry lately and are fading (read withering) fast.

One time for about two weeks straight of one of my 30/30 challenges, I would simply ask someone to say "Stop!" as I rifled the pages of Brewer's Dictionary of phrase and fable. Some of the poems never made it into the challenge but a couple did, though which ones they are fails me.

You're just as versatile and prolific as you're crediting me with, there Mister and I'm flattered you like Winsome Romance. I wonder if I'll ever write my characters into bed? The same goes for Cheri and Randy. She's bound to lose her virginity sometime with that big lug. Thanks for the thought fodder, darlin'. I'll put it all together one of these days and create some poemsies.

 

[champagne1982]

Just wanted to say Champ you've always been here for me and I've seen your sense of humour shining out! Do you remember the thread where we had to make 4 statements only one of which was true? I remember and it still makes me smile I will think out some special questions for you and will be back

Woot! Ominous Annie's gunnin' for me!

I'm warming up my answer pencil in prep for your tough questions.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Goodness where to start! Do you prefer doing your own thing or the joint ones i.e Gunfights and Challenges? Do you have a preference between Erotic and Non?
BTW I read your poem saying goodbye to Smithpeter last night and it was beautiful and really touched my heart strings.
Oh and your picture link doesn't work

 

[champagne1982]

First off, Annie, which picture link, part of the retro thread? Moe and Curly or Water Colour?

I've always liked to write on demand, when I'm in the mood. We all know the struggle to find a topic to write on, especially if you are creating every day. That's why returning here more regularly is actually inspiring. It helps to participate in the challenges, too. There are so many examples of good poetry to be found that I can't resist the pull to write something. For instance, I wrote a pantoum for the Teach-in! I really didn't think I'd come up with anything but I put Angeline's template into an Excel spreadsheet and voila! the boring office tool becomes a medium for poetry, particularly early in the morning.

The tags of erotic and non-erotic are so rigid. I don't think we should need to define our poetry in those terms but because this is Literotica, I understand the parameters. Anyway, I find that my audience determines if my poem is erotic or non-erotic. Like the Oil Change or Why Mormons Don't Dance (which should have maybe been Pentecostals but that is burdensome for a title) it's merely the interpretation of the content that determines where they fit and not so much the words as they appear. I think I like ambiguity as opposed to "in your face" obviousness with my poems, particularly those I hope are erotica.

Thank you for being interested in my way of thinking and for asking me about it. I know you can pose a few more challenging questions, so bring it!

 

[darkmaas]

...

Why Mormons Don't Dance (which should have maybe been Pentecostals but that is burdensome for a title)

...

I always wondered about your dancing Mormons. Pentecostals make much more sense. (I briefly dated a Mormon and she taught me how to square dance and the horizontal mambo à trois. A complicated girl.)

I digress. You need a question. Your poetry always has a strong sense of "craft". (Something I envy). Care to wrestle a bit with thoughts on craftsmanship and quality?

::

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Today your link is working so hey ho go figure!
I wanted to ask you about that Pantoum and not sure whether I should do it here or there! Methinks I better ask it there!

 

[champagne1982]

Good day, eh? I always felt that Mormons are more of a "sharing" sect, particularly when you wrap it up with the polygamous aspects of their faith... but I'm going to find myself deep into that digression with you, d'maas, if I don't jump into an answer right quick.

I'm flattered that you consider me a craftsman. It's something that comes up in discussion here on this board quite often as you must recollect. Art versus craft: I don't see the conflict since it seems to me that the artisan must craft and the craftsman must make art. I certainly grapple over what should go into writing but this is a really fast process with me. I am blessed with the luxury of quiet and nature here so my mind can focus on what would work best within a phrase. I often fall short of what I want to see come out of my efforts but I'm also okay with leaving it posted for a while and see if it has taken on a better colour once I get back to it. I'm content even if it remains untouched since sometimes, this catalogues my personal progression into making better art.

It almost embarrasses me to tell you that early on, (as if it isn't obvious) with some of my first poems I didn't linger or strive to understand rhythm. I was content to go on instinct and with my exposure to a lifetime of Robert Service, Poe and Dr. Suess I managed to make it appear correct. This isn't a bad thing, but man, T-zed definitely has an understanding of meter that I find formidable. I struggle with anything outside of dactyl and pentameter and if my poem slips into a troche, I have no idea what to call it, just that it feels right at the time.

I'm by no means a perfectionist, but I do like taking the time to do my best, even though poetry is still a leisurely thing with me, perhaps that's what gives the impression of quality to what I write. On consideration, maybe this is why the poetry well's been dry when I send down the bucket lately. I haven't felt I have the time, even though it takes me a relatively short period to produce something. If I feel rushed, the finish on my work leaves me dissatisfied and so I defeat my poems before they're even started.

So, like Ford (hahahaha) Quality is job 1, but without an open schedule job 1 can't begin. Thanks for letting me ramble into a bit of self-understanding. In summary, it all turns on the clock. Take the moments to produce art that shows quality craftsmanship, and if you can't, then at least come back to the slag heap and sort through what's there sometime, to learn how to salvage some of what's been thrown away.

Along with giving you an answer, I've actually drawn some insight into my block. Thank you, d'maas, that is invaluable.

 

[HarryHill]

Always loved your poems

You were one of the first I met here. Thank you for sharing your time. Do you have any advice for newcomers?

 

[champagne1982]

That's almost a question best answered by yourself or even todski. You both have been successful in becoming people I look for when I open the forum index so I welcome your perseverance in sticking around and busying up the place.

Advice to A PoBo Newb

Don't hasten to inundate with masses of words
that you twit into faceboook or text into blogs
Slow down and remember that we're mostly all nerds
who take naps here and scribble in booze-induced fog

Wait quietly and adjust to delayed gratification
it takes effort and patience to read what you've written
and produce considered pronouncements and pontification.
Oh, and don't be surprised if we're not instantly smitten

Receive what you're due and know that you have the wheel
steer your poetry where you want it to go
don't pout or cry foul and say, "I write what I feel!"
That's very teenaged and get past it. ... Although -

Play with us and take part, keep fun in mind.
This isn't hard labour, relax and unwind.

 

[darkmaas]

Good day, eh?

I'm flattered that you consider me a craftsman. It's something that comes up in discussion here on this board quite often as you must recollect. Art versus craft: I don't see the conflict since it seems to me that the artisan must craft and the craftsman must make art.

...

Along with giving you an answer, I've actually drawn some insight into my block. Thank you, d'maas, that is invaluable.

You're welcome (I think). I wasn't meaning Art vs Craft but rather recognizing craftsmanship ... the mastery of a skill ...

You bring up the issue of time. Do you think that more time, more effort helps or is there a point where you've sanded through the veneer?

::

 

[champagne1982]

You're welcome (I think). I wasn't meaning Art vs Craft but rather recognizing craftsmanship ... the mastery of a skill ...

You bring up the issue of time. Do you think that more time, more effort helps or is there a point where you've sanded through the veneer?

::

Veneer? Come, come. We're talking quality. Although from a practical view, veneer finishes make sense as with a limited resource such as birds' eye maple and the like. There is a point where you have to stop polishing the silver plate, I guess; but only as an individual. This is why this forum and its kind are invaluable resources. Send that baby off to school and let other people influence the direction your words take. Like the series where Ange taught us about Wallace Stevens, we chose a poem to attempt to emulate the poet's style and grab the essence of theme thus creating an original work.

I've had poems that have totally lost their way in the past, due to endless editing and rework. It's not necessarily bad but I do wish I still had kept the first draft posted ... for posterity if nothing else. You really can't spend too much time honing your craft, but you can overwork something and make it worse than it started. So yes, and yes.

 

[todski28]

There is quality in veneer if it is handled right, fragile and delicate but if prepped it can turn out amazing.....maybe I took that too literally?

As a main staple here in the forum 11 years, you must have seen some amazing writers (and not so amazing)

are there any that have particularly changed the way you look at poetry, and changed what you focus on when writing?

 

[champagne1982]

A lot of my positive influences have, sadly passed on. jd4george, boomerengue, smithpeter, YDD (not so much a poet but a very enlightening critic) to name a few. Many more have relinquished Literotica as a repository and a place to socialize, wickedeve, Pandora, unpredictablebijou...

But, to answer your question, I wouldn't pin one person down as a particular influence but instead, credit the community as a whole as a source of inspiration, direction and advice.

I could direct you to check out the list of Most Influential Poets over the years, but surprisingly (said with tongue in cheek) there are few forum participants on that list because we're not all very popular across Literotica and that voting is - no sour grapes intended or felt - pretty much a popularity contest.

I love the poetry of Lauren, Eve and Angeline. Some of the challenges we've all taken part in have really served to sharpen a lot of my skills... the forbidden words, the form restrictions, the constraints against rhyme and so on. Dredge them up to the top of the forum and try your hand at a few. annaswirls is a poet with a few alts, and I'm going to leave you to discover them on your own . Neo is so very talented and just one of my favourite humans on this planet. In fact, as I said in my first post on this thread, I am in love with many of the souls I've come to know as my online friends.

Now that I'm out of my own closet full of skeletons and an admitted older woman, I actually can anticipate meeting some of these momentous folks, like the Fool in Kansas, Angeline in NC, Annie and butters in England, neo in the west and oh so many more who are a simple pm away to let them know I'm thinking about landing in their parts.

Once again, welcome to the forum, it's a pleasure to get to know you.

 

[annaswirls]

Hi Champ!

When I first stumbled upon this world, I remember my first impression of you: confident, sophisticated, intelligent. I have to say I was intimidated by your talent, often saying "How does she do that?"

Your writing has a level of sophistication and leads me to wonder about your education, and a precision that leads me to wonder, are you an avid reader? What are your favorite things (besides Lit poetry ). Any favorite books, etc?

And where do you get your uber sexy avs?

~a

 

[champagne1982]

Hey there swirly-girl. Thank you so much for visiting this thread, it's lovely to offer you a biographical sketch of my outside life and interests. Without further ado, here goes!

The first book I remember reading was Bambi, A Life In The Woods by Felix Salter. This was pre-kindergarten, I'm sure although the details are a little foggy after nearly 50 years. When I was in kindergarten my teacher and the school continually tested me and put my reading comprehension at around a Grade 6 level. I don't remember learning to read, it was just something I've always done. Where children currently are exposed to the classics via DVD and digital tv, my early forays were into my grandfather's library which was a small room with floor to ceiling books. I found Frank L. Baum and Lewis Carroll there and always got new books for every birthday. The poem "Just Another Steinbeck Summer" is an impression of what really happened every year.

I read and re-read books all of the time, currently I'm slogging my way through A Cloud Atlas but it's taking forever to pique me to stick with it. I might chisel away at it, in hopes that it will get moving, but I despair of this happening. It's not often I put away a book without finishing it, in fact it is really rare when I do, and this could be a time when I opt for the video version first.

Colleen McCullough, James Michner, Gary Jennings, Diana Gabaldon (Outlander and not the Lord John Grey books) number just a few of my returning featured authors. There are so many and I fear I've forgotten more books than I replace with new ones. I should have catologued them but I'm not that kind of person: no journals or diaries, very few calendars. I'm a haphazard organizer, although since my valve surgeries I need to always put my keys in the same place and make routines my habits or else I'd never find my glasses.

I joined the armed forces as an Airframe Technician right out of high school. Don't ask me why, it just sounded interesting. I wasn't an avid aviation fan or overtly patriotic (find me a Canadian who is) although I love my nation's reputation and will staunchly defend the rights of her citizens to live a fulfilling and just life, but a career in the military actually fit with what I wanted to do.

In my years of service I once travelled to 13 cities in 16 days on a C130 Hercules as a member of the mobile maintenance crew with a navigation trainer flight. I was 21 years old and got to experience the exotic lands found in all those books that fuelled my daydreams -- Greenland - in the fall, Wales, Germany, Lisbon for lunch << really!, Madrid, Marseilles, Rabat, The Ivory Coast, Brazil, Barbados, The US and home again. Greenland - in the winter - was a regular temporary duty trip since that was the time of year we flew diesel and jet fuel in to supply Alert although I did visit in the summer, once and watched edit: glaciers calve icebergs: edit at Thule Bay. My career spanned the Atlantic since I served five years in Germany with the squadrons of F18 Hornets in Baden-Baden. I injured my knee just prior to the first Gulf War so I was part of the rear party for those who were dispatched to Qatar. I know Canadian soldiers who served in Rwanda, Somalia and The Balkans, I mourn the loss of every life in Afghanistan and fear for those I know are preparing to go to the next hot spot...

I went to college and got a desk job as an administrator after retirement. My son is the family member who lost his arm in a single vehicle accident. My daughter is in her 2nd year of university. I'm happy and content living on the shore of a very cold Cold Lake (at least it is this year, the ice wasn't completely gone until just before the May long weekend). My favourite things include, but aren't limited to: canoeing, walking and swimming the dogs around the area, cooking and visiting my friends.

(B.T.W. my AVs come from setting the filters on Google search to adult and then typing in corsets, bondage, nudes, etc., the one of the dog with the gummed reinforcements on the sunglasses is mine though. He's a cocker spaniel named Spike and is now my senior doggy).

So, how do you do?

 

[UnderYourSpell]

So we have more similarities than I thought! I too could 'always' read and have no idea how I learnt before school and I was in the WRAF for 6 years!
Did you get your expertise in forms here or elsewhere?

 

[Angeline]

How has your taste in poetry changed over the years? Are there any poets who you return to and is there anyone newer (or newer to you) who is scratching your poetry itch these days?

What do you think are the top three things you've learned about writing poetry that helped you the most as a poet?

 

[butters]

Hello Champers! Yet another fascinating thread allowing us into the heads of poets here - it's turned out to be a really cool idea.

I know we met at another site, and it was down to you that I found Lit - a huge thankyou for that. Have you been a member of lots of other literature-based forums, or only a few, and what makes Lit such a special place for you? Did you feel it experienced its own golden age when you were new to Lit, or does that sort of come and go as people leave, others join in?

I'm working my way through some of your submissions at the moment, and enjoying the trip!

 

[champagne1982]

So we have more similarities than I thought! I too could 'always' read and have no idea how I learnt before school and I was in the WRAF for 6 years!
Did you get your expertise in forms here or elsewhere?

Per Ardua ad Astra! Were you in safety boots or did you wear a different shoe to work each day while in the Air Force Annie? I loved maintaining and inspecting my big birds and sometimes miss the close camaraderie with my crew and squadron. But leaving the daily fellowship behind is all part of retirement and I'm blessed to have many other areas of interest to be involved with.

I would never say that I'm an expert in form or poetry, that would take far more effort than I wish to expend for now. But any ability I have with fitting words into a puzzle (that's how I approach formula) has grown up here. I learn so much from the challenges and discussing any results with other poets.

I am ok with crediting my teachers with any poetic development in my middle school years and beyond. In Grade 5 I had the privilege of being taught by an artist with a minor in English Comp. All of my teachers tended to focus on pastimes that anyone could do with paper and pencil. It's just by fluke that I don't draw well.

I once had a little thought about journalism as a career, but I'm so glad I chose to shoot a different rifle so that I married the man I love and with whom I share my terrific kids.

 

[champagne1982]

How has your taste in poetry changed over the years? Are there any poets who you return to and is there anyone newer (or newer to you) who is scratching your poetry itch these days?

What do you think are the top three things you've learned about writing poetry that helped you the most as a poet?

I think I'll begin with the last first. The first thing I learned and I learned it from you - is to read poets that write differently than the poetry I grew up reading. Not all great poems rhyme (although many of them do) or were written sometime in the past. There are contemporary and recent poets that I hadn't really engaged with before Literotica.

Second, I've the talk. I can understand discussion and critique about my poetry and now can offer well-considered comments about other people's writing. Giving constructive critique is a terrific learning tool and one I think all (particularly the newer ones) poets should Give more than they get.

Third, work at poetry, don't just toss it out there. Yeah, you'll be lucky a few times and get some worthy poems but over the long haul it's far better to spend some effort finding the perfect word and the perfect line to put it in so that your poem says exactly what you mean.

I recently found this gem Poet's Weave - Gabrielle Calvocoressi take a minute and listen.

I haven't indulged lately, but I was a regular at a little Poet's Dive Bar on Second Life, if my life ever gets back to more leisurely pursuits on Sunday afternoons I'll venture back. I hope it's still there.

And finally I either Google search or come back and visit some of my Literotica faves like neo, Lauren, you, Tagatha and where I can find them Eve's poems. I really like just reading the threads on this forum like the 5 senses, passion suddenly, 30 in 30 and I would be devastated if Lit fell through the ether into ... well, the ether.

I think that I still love rhythm and form as far as poetry preferences but I have come to look for seamless rhyme that is so well thought out that the enjambments don't jar and the ends don't stop abruptly... Poetry with a rhythm and sly wit are high up on my appreciation scale, that's what I love about our British poets, just understated humour when it's funny and matter-of-fact earthiness when it's otherwise. I could go on and on but I am sure you get the gist of this.

 

[champagne1982]

Hello Champers! Yet another fascinating thread allowing us into the heads of poets here - it's turned out to be a really cool idea.

I know we met at another site, and it was down to you that I found Lit - a huge thankyou for that. Have you been a member of lots of other literature-based forums, or only a few, and what makes Lit such a special place for you? Did you feel it experienced its own golden age when you were new to Lit, or does that sort of come and go as people leave, others join in?

I'm working my way through some of your submissions at the moment, and enjoying the trip!

Well, Literotica and the PF&D has always been my main fixture for finding like-minded poets and writers. I met jd4george and you at editred which I miss very much. That was an open critique forum that shared many of Lit's great characteristics (as well as a few flawed ones, too) such as generous critique and really fun and tasking challenges.

I think I was so happy to find gifted folks with a healthy appetite for the erotic and its seamier side - porn - all contributing in one place without a lot of constraining rules, just guidelines and what I see as common sense limits to follow. Sure, it was a golden age, but just one of many. Look back at some really old threads and you'll see poets that were gone before I showed up and poets that have left since, as well. There's a steady ebb and flow of talent and interest here and thankfully, as I've said before, the constants who often perform resuscitation to bring new life and new poets into the fold.

(And thank you for loving this little corner of the Litverse as much as I do).