One of the most prevalent times that newness rears its head is my constant vacillation between belonging to a group and entering contests or not. While most seem to be a positive influence, some commentators tend to harp continually on things that do not seem quite so important to me. It is those few that often make me feel that because my work does not rhyme and does not follow a standard form of stanzas or syllables, it is inferior. I have over fifteen years of writing experience and have been published more than a few times. I have also taken many classes at college level focusing on literature and am familiar with the many forms poetry, specifically, can take.
I have tried very hard not to take criticisms too closely to the heart but it is often difficult when they are being left by folks that have far less life experience to draw from and often write about the inane things we all did in our youth. The harshest I have reflected on recently was a poem written out of my own experience of the last eighteen months of my life and was excruciating to pen. Not only did the commentator doubt my sincerity within the piece but it, evidently, did not come off as truthful to her. I find it difficult for anyone with "teen" still included in their age to understand such interpersonal subject matter as adultery, perhaps. Primarily because I am of the opinion that "cheating" and "adultery" are two completely different scenarios. If you are dating someone & they cheat on you, it's painful, yes, losing your significant other always is, but you simply break up and move on. If you are married to someone and they are adulterous, not only do you lose your beloved mate, but you are left to untangle a life, which typically includes children, family, bills, etc., AND THEN, break up and move on.
But far beyond the question of my integrity as a writer and person, the comments left made me feel like my reader thought me foolish and unintelligent. In addressing that, I have studied Milton’s iambic pentameter and dreamed along with Shakespeare’s sonnets. I have been captivated by Chaucer’s narratives and have been spun in wild mirage by the lyric poetic stylings of Keats, Tennyson and Eliot. But having said so, I also spend a fair amount of time with more current poetry, with less form but no less important personally and culturally. I have fallen in love with the imagery of Pablo Neruda and have been inspired by the femininist poet and novelist, Erica Jong.
But within my own work, I have found that the constraints of form and rhyme do not come easily to me and so instead, I choose to focus on communicating emotion and clear expression of imagery. Of late, I have entered several contests and have had some fairly remarkable comments left on my work. Leading not only to a concern that I am not as learned or as skilled as I would have thought but going so far as to consider the option of foregoing contests and groups altogether. I would never say that I can’t grow as a writer and will freely admit that I have left some strong comments on poetry entered into my contests. But I have never been blatantly rude and would never try to make someone feel badly about their entry. If it was so bad that I couldn’t relate or if I couldn’t find anything positive to comment on, I simply would put “thank you for your entry” or “not exactly what I was after” and hope that the poet would understand that poetry is subjective and that just because I didn’t care for that entry, does not automatically mean that I don’t appreciate them as writers, nor does it mean that they are unskilled in their art.
I think there is a fine line between offering constructive criticism and being downright cruel. It is my humble belief that if you leave a harsh comment, you should be willing to back it up with solid reflection. For instance, if imagery was not properly reflected, give information as to where in the poem it was lacking and provide an example of how it could be made better. On a whole, I have tried to be a kind commenter and can only put out positive energy to that end. Sometimes my comments are still misconstrued, but such is the way with not having the added bonus of face to face discussion. A lot tends to be lost in translation. Nonetheless, I dearly love poetry and have found a good deal of solid companionship and quality peers at AP. And therein lies my quandary.
Again, to belong or not to belong!
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