by Gregg Rowe
A critique is a work of art. It is where the reader must become distant as an individual, and in some cases, as an author. It is where the reader, must go and say to oneself, 'I give myself over to the person who I am experiencing.'
A critique is part of this reader. In order to enjoy a poem, a reader must let go of all inhabitation and experience what the 'narrator' is experiencing. The reader must constantly be reminded that the 'I' in a poem is not necessarily the author, but a fictionalized 'I'.
A critique is an intellectual comment on not only what the author and narrator say, but the response from the reader in how the words were interpreted.
A critique is complementary therapy to the traditional work. It reminds the writer that there is always room for improvement and gives the reader a chance to discover new works and to experience an opportunity for them to showcase their knowledge on the topics.
A critique is a dialogue between the creator of the work and the receiver of the work. It is constructive in form and not only praises the work but points out the author's flaws. These flaws could range anywhere from form, meter, alliteration; all the way to rhyming schemes, points on free verse, and heaven forbid, the spelling errors. Yet it is not a licence to attack an author, for a critique is an artistic tool to help writers improve on their works and not be berated to a point where they do not write again.
by Gregg Rowe
A critique is a work of art. It is where the reader must become distant as an individual, and in some cases, as an author. It is where the read
A critique is a work of art. It is where the reader must become distant as an individual, and in some cases, as an author. It is where the read
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Very well said Gregg *notices the day* and Good luck tomorrow hope you come back and give us more words to enjoy soon. Awesome write.
*~OD~* -
Very well written and informative. You have been helpful to me with my writings in the past and I look forward to your help and critiques in the future. Cheryl
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"The reader must constantly be reminded that the 'I' in a poem is not necessarily the author, but a fictionalized 'I'. "
Greg
I think that works when you're dealing with professional writers. I would say most writers here aren't professional. They're a bunch of kids venting their feelings. Treating the "I" in the poems of adolescents as fictionalized constructs is probably not helpful, although I do agree with the concept in theory.
I would like to add this: I've had experiences where the writer didn't like my reaction to the poem. I think the writer should be grateful for any tactful but honest reaction, even if they don't agree with it. It doesn't matter whether the reader didn't get it or not. Poetry is about communication. If the reader should have been knowledgeable to get the poem and didn't, then there's a problem. If he didn't, then why argue?
Anyhow, thank you for your input.
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excellent
Very well penned!!! Prayers are with you tomorrow and always... -
Dear Gregg,
"Judge with candour, admonish with friendship and reprehend with mercy" I don't know who was the author of those words but I think that they can be applied very well to those who are offerring critiques.
Your advice is sound and well-reasoned and perhaps those commenters who invariably describe every poem that they comment on as "Great", "Excellent", "Perfect" or just "Good" will realise that such epithets are usually not very constructive and are of little help in the advancement of the writer's skill or talent.
On the other hand, big-heads who have the effrontery to berate an author to the point of not writing again have done no service to the victim, to this site or to poetry in general and they would be better to keep their opinions to themselves.
Thanks for sharing these views. Applause.
Best wishes and regards, Hugh.
Edited on Jun 28, 3:49 p.m. because ''. -
Well stated. I particularly liked your concepts of giving yourself over the writer in an exercise of complementary therapy. It seems the perfect expression of our need to help another heal and grow through supportive cooperation.
The only line that seemed out of place was the last warning not to berate someone into giving up writing. In that I felt that perhaps this write was in reaction to some mindless, heartless someone with other goals in mind. It seemed, at least to me, to detract from what otherwise was a gentle and intelligent approach to critiques. -
This is a very poetic way of defining a critique!
There are one or two typos, though - I think you mean "complementary", not "complimentary" (the former means something that augments something else, the latter a statement of praise). I'm also very dubious about your use of "defaults", here. Surely default is the automatically chosen value for something? (since your opponent has been disqualified, you win by default). In this context I would use the word flaw or even, perhaps, mistakes.
On the more positive side (
), you've made a few excellent points here - the need for tact and care when critiquing, the need to remember that there should be some amount of flexibility between the writer and the reader, and the reminder that critiques are supposed to help us improve our work and provide reader input, not just to bolster our egos. I honestly wish more people would give honest critiques or, failing that, real feedback about my work.
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