Does a poem...?

[billy]

I have noticed that the offered crit varies considerable not only from person to person, but also even in terms of what an individual might offer as an opinion. (Obviously it is good to have a board a base to keep things objective and fresh). However, I am given cause to question the validity of some points made when I notice what would appear to be a polar opposite opinion being expressed in other crit, or stances taken in their own writings and subsequent defence of crit given on their work.

i found on forums it's not only the content of the poem which plays a part on how it's critiqued but sometimes the persona of the poet. for instance (and this is me being truthful) if i were to leave critique on one of your poems, i'd temper my line by line with a touch more kindness; though i always try to be honest. with tecktak or serge i'll be less kind. for people who are offensive i'll just be brutally honest without trying to be kind. i'm good to go with smart remarks as long as they only insult the poem, sometimes it's a fine line deciding the fact.

I know that for many, there is a period when there is bit of a state of flux as we learn our craft and different opinions and skills rub off the shoulders of more experienced voices on the site. This is not really what I am trying to discuss.

one of the reasons my crit is seldom the same week by week or month by month is that i learn something new. but that's all i'll say on the matter

Does a poem…?
…need to be PC? (as an absolute / within individual definitions / no not really…”let’s not and say we did!”…besides which we are being radical poets and nobody can second say the art)

only if we want it to be. i think first and foremost it has to be or at least attempt to be whatever we deicide it should be.

…need to have an understandable, or at least some level of discernable meaning? (that is “accessible” to all / a select few)….or alternatively is it only about the relative sounds made by the units of words that is of significance and meaning is only secondary?
(I’ve no doubt there are other points that could be discussed, but these were the most recent two on my horizon).

for me a poem needsd to have something (it can be the title or one line) that i can grasp, otherwise i can't comment except to say i can't understand the poem, there are occasions (many of them) when i just don't get it, yet the words hold something special. i'll say as much in the feedback i give. it's not a contest, not about being smarter or more learned. that thick skin you mention; think of it as a life jack at sea. most of the time it's stored away only on the odd occasion does it actually need to be worn. if we're uneasy with line by lines and some of the less flavourful, cutting remarks post in novice. personally i think you as a poet i've read on the site, are worthy of posting in mild and serious. if you think someone is being a smart arse, (it's usually tom ) send them a pm and explain how you feel.

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We have been exposed, over the past twenty years or so, to the idea that if it's difficult, there's always a shortcut somewhere. Spark notes destroy poetry.

sparks def destroys feedback when it's used so it sort of kills that too

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If meaning eludes you, why would you want to critique and even relevantly, at all? ;-)
Sorry for intruding. Just could not resist.
cheers
serge

sometimes all it takes to open up a poem that eludes us is a line or phrase or word, a better title. if enough people say "the poem eludes me" the the poet can possibly make less elusive with a minor edit. isn't that what workshops are for?

i often get the wrong meaning from a poem while many get the poets intention. and that's okay. but if everyone who reads a poem and gets the wrong intent from it the poet may think about it before he writes another poem that's just too ambiguous. if he's a good poet he'll say to everyone that got it wrong "yes, yes, exactly, that's what i was going for, you nailed it "

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Not intruding. (And you do it so sweetly ...who could possibly protest at such a mannerly intrusion).
Good comment, sort of why I asked the question.
Normally I don't offer crit if I don't see meaning....but I see from some comments that others. Do not appear to have a problem....so I'm interested to have a view on this.

if ever you see a poem i write and can't discern the meaning, say so, let me know i got it wrong or didn't succeed getting a point or message across, that i didn't succeed with the emotion i intended. often telling me you don't get it is the most important piece of feedback i can receive, of course it could be the reader fault but if enough readers have the same problem then it probably my fault.