08-31-2013, 12:30 AM
Things to consider:
1. Level of Discussion:
A poetry workshop has lots of give and take. Commentators read the work and offer their insight into the piece. Some of the insight may be relevant. The author inputs his or her take on the poem and addresses areas of concern; after all, the author probably has had a longer relationship with the poem than the commentators have had. The author may even want further elaboration about comments. Authors NEED to do this. Then, in a serious workshop, the commentators attempt to elaborate. It is a constant give-and-take process. Yes, the poem needs to stand on its own, but the exchange between the commentators and the author can greatly aid the development of a work.
Some of what this board appears to want in the process of mentoring should be happening in other forums. The place has seemed to fall into the cycle of "post/comment/edit/comment/edit" without much discussion throughout the process.
2. Ego:
Most poetry workshops realize that the poet needs to check his or her ego at the door. Well, commentators also need to check their ego at the door too. There is nothing wrong in challenging a comment, but you should take the time to understand what was written. Commentators should not hide behind the mask of "serious critique."
3. Perspective:
Commentators should be open-minded. Being people with our own histories, we are often trapped in our ways of thinking and it is difficult to have an open mind. Commentators, in fact, should begin reading a work with the expectation that the poem is perfect, meaning that poem does exactly what is trying to do. Part of the responsibilities of a commentator is to examine what the poem is trying to do and analyze if the poem is accomplishing that. The responsibility of a commentator is not to assess whether or not he or she likes a poem.
This board realizes that last point, but doesn't realize the full implications of that. If you don't like a poem and blabber something about "faux poeticism", you have not commented. All you have done is quite ignorantly labeled something as bad; you have said nothing about poetry. You have judged without going through the process of the trial. It is the responsibility of the commentator to read the poem. If he or she is unable to do that, it is probably best to not comment at all. This is a rampant problem in online poetry forums, but interestingly enough, this is not as much of a problem in face-to-face workshops. Perhaps the physical nature of being with others, who take time to examine a work, forces commentators to not look at the door or their watch and actually READ the poem.
As a cautionary note, you better pay close attention to how you treat beginners who come to the board. If you don't treat them well, the board will die. This could be quite literally, as in no one posts anymore, or metaphorically, in the sense that creative process steps like a horse chained to the mill. Think of that horse walking the same circle day after day. New people offer fresh perspective and much needed energy to a poetry forum.
1. Level of Discussion:
A poetry workshop has lots of give and take. Commentators read the work and offer their insight into the piece. Some of the insight may be relevant. The author inputs his or her take on the poem and addresses areas of concern; after all, the author probably has had a longer relationship with the poem than the commentators have had. The author may even want further elaboration about comments. Authors NEED to do this. Then, in a serious workshop, the commentators attempt to elaborate. It is a constant give-and-take process. Yes, the poem needs to stand on its own, but the exchange between the commentators and the author can greatly aid the development of a work.
Some of what this board appears to want in the process of mentoring should be happening in other forums. The place has seemed to fall into the cycle of "post/comment/edit/comment/edit" without much discussion throughout the process.
2. Ego:
Most poetry workshops realize that the poet needs to check his or her ego at the door. Well, commentators also need to check their ego at the door too. There is nothing wrong in challenging a comment, but you should take the time to understand what was written. Commentators should not hide behind the mask of "serious critique."
3. Perspective:
Commentators should be open-minded. Being people with our own histories, we are often trapped in our ways of thinking and it is difficult to have an open mind. Commentators, in fact, should begin reading a work with the expectation that the poem is perfect, meaning that poem does exactly what is trying to do. Part of the responsibilities of a commentator is to examine what the poem is trying to do and analyze if the poem is accomplishing that. The responsibility of a commentator is not to assess whether or not he or she likes a poem.
This board realizes that last point, but doesn't realize the full implications of that. If you don't like a poem and blabber something about "faux poeticism", you have not commented. All you have done is quite ignorantly labeled something as bad; you have said nothing about poetry. You have judged without going through the process of the trial. It is the responsibility of the commentator to read the poem. If he or she is unable to do that, it is probably best to not comment at all. This is a rampant problem in online poetry forums, but interestingly enough, this is not as much of a problem in face-to-face workshops. Perhaps the physical nature of being with others, who take time to examine a work, forces commentators to not look at the door or their watch and actually READ the poem.
As a cautionary note, you better pay close attention to how you treat beginners who come to the board. If you don't treat them well, the board will die. This could be quite literally, as in no one posts anymore, or metaphorically, in the sense that creative process steps like a horse chained to the mill. Think of that horse walking the same circle day after day. New people offer fresh perspective and much needed energy to a poetry forum.