03-29-2014, 05:04 AM
From the Rubric:
Poetry probably doesn't unsettle us enough these days. At its very best, it is a challenge to our dearly-held beliefs and should cause us to reevaluate our positions constantly. However, it has been my experience that many people who write on "distasteful" subjects do so with the express purpose to shock, which generally makes their poems heavy-handed, amateurish and borderline (or not so borderline) preachy. This makes our judgment pretty simple: you've written a crap poem and your subject is crap, so why should I bother reading any further?
On the other hand, Browning's Porphyria's Lover is an awesome poem -- but strangling a girl with her own hair isn't a subject I'd choose voluntarily
Quote:Remember: Whether you LIKE the poem is the very last thing you should consider if you wish to remain objective.
Poetry probably doesn't unsettle us enough these days. At its very best, it is a challenge to our dearly-held beliefs and should cause us to reevaluate our positions constantly. However, it has been my experience that many people who write on "distasteful" subjects do so with the express purpose to shock, which generally makes their poems heavy-handed, amateurish and borderline (or not so borderline) preachy. This makes our judgment pretty simple: you've written a crap poem and your subject is crap, so why should I bother reading any further?
On the other hand, Browning's Porphyria's Lover is an awesome poem -- but strangling a girl with her own hair isn't a subject I'd choose voluntarily
It could be worse