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stargal Senior Member
since 2006-03-06
Posts 1352OR USA |
Hi: I’ve been reading some of the replies in CA and I was wondering what the definition of a good poem was? No offence, but in a some of the posts, not all of them but a few, where people are asking for help sometimes they get replies saying something to the effect of, “this is a miserable contribution that shouldn’t even be on the board here”, “your diary entries shouldn’t posted here”. I know I’m not exact in my wording of some of the replies, and if this offends anyone that posts in CA I apologize but could you explain what IS meant to be on the board there? I am trying to improve my work but so far there seems to be no real guidelines on what should be posted and what shouldn’t. I’m a new writer so I don’t know if my work qualifies as ready for CA or if I should just stick to keeping my “diary” entries to myself. I have posted one poem in CA before but, even though I received helpful ideas on how to improve, nobody actually told me if I was SUPPOSED to be posting on the forum. I guess what I am asking is what is worthy of being posted on CA and who decides? For, if the creator of the poem were to decide wouldn’t a lot of us consider ourselves worthy to post wherever we wanted? Thanks for listening to my ramblings  "I pray thee, O God, that I |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
quote: Yep. And that is precisely as it should be. If there is anyone on this site with the credentials to offer more than their own opinions, something I and everyone else can accept as definitive and authoritative, I'd love to have them step forward. Failing that, however, every individual writer is going to have to make certain decisions for themselves. Whether they are ready for critique is certainly going to be one of those decisions. They are also going to have to decide, for themselves, what advice is helpful and what advice is merely contentious. How does a fledgling writer learn to make those decisions? Everyone is different, of course, but I think the best recommendation, especially if they are worried their work still lacks sufficient depth, is to READ a whole lot of other poetry, both good and bad, with a critical eye of their own. Just as red stands out in a sea of blue, trite starts to stand out when compared to the work of the masters. Put more succinctly, there is nothing that doesn't have a place in CA if posting it can help someone learn to do better. Oh, and just for the record, the diary as literature isn't necessarily something to be avoided. Ever hear of Anne Frank? |
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stargal Senior Member
since 2006-03-06
Posts 1352OR USA |
Hi Ron: Yes, I have heard of Anne Frank, it just seems that on this site it is greatly discouraged to write in that kind of style, am I wrong in assuming such? Or did I misunderstand again? As for reading good/bad work who decides which is which? I know lots of people who like Emily Dickinson; I for one find her work to be rather so-so, interesting content but the writing itself isn’t that great, in my opinion. So what do I start with? Is it that I am such a horrible writer myself that I can’t distinguish between good and bad writing? Sorry, I seem to be rambling once again, you have answered my question, which I thank you for, and I appreciate it a lot. Your answer helps to clear up a lot of stuff I’ve been wondering about lately "I pray thee, O God, that I |
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Not A Poet Member Elite
since 1999-11-03
Posts 3885Oklahoma, USA |
Stargal, As Ron said, the purpose of CA is to help writers improve. Anyone who submits poetry to CA with that intent is welcome and will likely get some advice (which may or may not be helpful, of course). The other side of that, however, is those who post just for their own gratification and have no desire to improve their writing skills. Most of the forum regulars, for example, find it almost offensive to read through poetry rife with misspellings and internet shorthand or street sland (except where used appropriately). Another problem is mangled grammar although that is more excusable from a writer of another language trying to learn. Finally, I have little tolerance for those who respond to critique by claiming that they "don't care what others think as they write only for themselves." I think this is the diary reference you mentioned. Anne Frank's diary was important because it told a compelling historical story that the world needed. Precious few of the "journal entries" we see in CA, or anywhere else for that matter, rise to that level. In short, it doesn't take too long in the forum to figure out who is serious about wanting to improve and who just wants to inflate their own ego. There is a real difference. Pete |
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ChristianSpeaks Member
since 2006-05-18
Posts 396Iowa, USA |
I think that Stargal is referring to a more recent poster who has taken it upon his/her self to provide a scathing critique of many poets who have been posting recently. /S/He was particularly cruel to star gal. I would encourage you to take a look at CA - around the top ten posts. I have taken particular offense to this persons decision to critique without posting themselves. Take a look and tell us what you think. thanks guys. I really do enjoy this place. CS |
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Munda Member Elite
since 1999-10-08
Posts 3544The Hague, The Netherlands |
I suppose I'm a naive person, since I always thought critiques had some kind of rules too. 1) You start by pointing out what you like in the poem and why you like it. 2) You can say what part(s) you didn't like, why you didn't like them and give an example of how you think it may improve. 3) Always critique the poem only, never the poet! It is called respect. 4) It's better to say nothing at all, instead of being negative only. No one will learn from it. Did I miss something? I'm flabbergasted by what's going on in CA. I'd say... take the discussion somewhere else and CA back to "constructive" critisism... but then... I'm only Dutch and I have a severe case of split personalities, so what do I know?  |
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stargal Senior Member
since 2006-03-06
Posts 1352OR USA |
Hi: I have only a few minutes at the moment but I wanted to try and clear something up real fast. CS: The person you have referred to has NOT been rude or unkind to me in any way. The reason I have posted this Question was motivated by some of their comments in CA but not only by them, others as well, of the same nature, have come to my attention and I felt it necessary to ask. As I appreciate all the efforts that go into running CA and I had noticed these remarks but no one had mentioned them to me. I wanted to make sure that I was not missing some sort of rules that I didn't know about. I would also like to say that not all the remarks made in CA are... Well, not all of the replies in CA are like the ones I mentioned above. Personally when I posted in CA I was treated very kindly and I would hate for those who took the time to post on my poem to think I was ungrateful or thought I was treated rudely, because I wasn't. Also, if in posting this thread I have offended ANYONE in any way I apologize, as this was not my intent when I posted, nor is it now. I’m sorry that I don’t have time to discuss what Munda and Not A Poet have said at the moment, no offence, I will be back when I have more time to consider their replies. Thanks for taking the time to post "I pray thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within." –Socrates @-->--- |
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