08-28-2011, 07:23 AM
The shorter a poem, the more likely it is that one will be thinking oof changing it, if it seems good. There is less leeway.
I do not think writing is much different to other forms of art: if a sculptor keeps chipping away, he will lose everything. If a watercolorist keeps adding colour, even white, it becomes darker and darker -- the whole object of light and luminous vanishes. Even an oil-painter must know when to stop. It may not be perfection, but it may be as good as it can be.
A slightly separate issue, but touching on this, is: do you want the thing you began to end as the best it can be, or the best YOU can make it? I think I still find comments most helpful for the future. Vanity, perhaps.
I do not think writing is much different to other forms of art: if a sculptor keeps chipping away, he will lose everything. If a watercolorist keeps adding colour, even white, it becomes darker and darker -- the whole object of light and luminous vanishes. Even an oil-painter must know when to stop. It may not be perfection, but it may be as good as it can be.
A slightly separate issue, but touching on this, is: do you want the thing you began to end as the best it can be, or the best YOU can make it? I think I still find comments most helpful for the future. Vanity, perhaps.