02-15-2011, 10:39 AM
hi jim. you have a valid point. like food, poetry can also be overcooked (sorry for the bad simile)
for me the most important things to achieve are originalty presentation, in that order.
if we just show a good presentation without good original content then the presentation/form is wasted.
however if can show some original imagery it still has a lot to offer us if and when we do an edit.
having those images on the page are much more helpful to and edit than having a perfect form.
the other point you make about putting it away for a while. i agree with you. do a few edits by all means but after that put it in a draw for a week, month, 6 months, etc. do the same with the original poem. you'll find when you take them out that you can
spot what you did wrong and where you did it. you'll also see what you did right, etc, and coming at it with a fresh and open mind
will make the last couple of edits all the easier. i often take old poems out to edit and think; did i really write that crap
the other thing is; while the poems are resting in a draw, we're hopefully not. we read more write more become more accustomed to the craft of poetry, we see advice we like and understand and advice we realize isn't quite so good. we learn to discern some of the finer points of what we're doing. while the old poem rots in a draw we (well not me ) get better.
jmo.
for me the most important things to achieve are originalty presentation, in that order.
if we just show a good presentation without good original content then the presentation/form is wasted.
however if can show some original imagery it still has a lot to offer us if and when we do an edit.
having those images on the page are much more helpful to and edit than having a perfect form.
the other point you make about putting it away for a while. i agree with you. do a few edits by all means but after that put it in a draw for a week, month, 6 months, etc. do the same with the original poem. you'll find when you take them out that you can
spot what you did wrong and where you did it. you'll also see what you did right, etc, and coming at it with a fresh and open mind
will make the last couple of edits all the easier. i often take old poems out to edit and think; did i really write that crap
the other thing is; while the poems are resting in a draw, we're hopefully not. we read more write more become more accustomed to the craft of poetry, we see advice we like and understand and advice we realize isn't quite so good. we learn to discern some of the finer points of what we're doing. while the old poem rots in a draw we (well not me
) get better. jmo.