08-31-2013, 05:54 AM
If you post a poem and then eagerly await feedback on said poem, only to have commenters take their nitpickery of one another's points so seriously that they forget there was a poem posted in the first place, it can become somewhat tedious. This is the reason we ask that commenters take said nitpickery to another thread as it rarely ends up contributing to the progression of the poem. Once you've pointed out a weakness, especially in Serious Workshopping, it's reasonable to expect that either the poet asks for clarification or the poet can use his/her actual brain to determine whether or not the advice is sound.
The number of edits a poet performs is really up to the poet, not the commenters. If a poet finds merit in a number of successive comments, it is not unreasonable to expect several edits in quick succession. Some poets like to wait until a variety of viewpoints are in. The only expectation is that poets WILL listen to feedback and WILL edit if the feedback suggests that it is in the interests of the poem.
Personally, when offering critique I read none of the preceding comments. I critique the poem. It interests me not in the slightest whether other commenters agree with me, or I with them. My responsibility in a workshop is to enter into a dialogue with the poem and nothing else.
The number of edits a poet performs is really up to the poet, not the commenters. If a poet finds merit in a number of successive comments, it is not unreasonable to expect several edits in quick succession. Some poets like to wait until a variety of viewpoints are in. The only expectation is that poets WILL listen to feedback and WILL edit if the feedback suggests that it is in the interests of the poem.
Personally, when offering critique I read none of the preceding comments. I critique the poem. It interests me not in the slightest whether other commenters agree with me, or I with them. My responsibility in a workshop is to enter into a dialogue with the poem and nothing else.
It could be worse