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[wanderlust]

no one's perfect at anything...okay ella's the perfect mod and Leanne ..well she's just perfect, but that's about it. a good meme though it isn't one i use though i should is: I shall try to be perfect.. i see you've already left feedback on the site. that's as near to being perfect as we hope for round here

'I shall try to be perfect' is a bit of an impossibly high goal don't you think? For me, I'll use: I shall try not to be a huge pain in the butt.
I think it fits better

And yes, it feels necessary to give feedback to people. I really don't like the fact it has to be a rule. (As in, I don't like that people will drop their poems and not even think of helping other people out.) The past day I spent a lot of time just reading people's critiques around the forum, and I already feel like it will benefit me a lot in my own poetry.

[billy]

we can all try, none of use will likely succeed but to try in such a way is to reach as high as one can.

reach for the stars and catch the moon

if you reach for the moon you'll only catch the gutter on your roof

[ellajam]

A suggestion for those of us not ready for the Serious Workshop: Read it! It is a goldmine of lessons in what works and why, and what falls short and why. Just attempting to understand the critiques there is bound to have an effect on our writing and critiquing in Novice and Mild. Don't pass up this rare opportunity to peek in on those of us whose skills are more developed.

[ellajam]

It's definitely a skill that has to be practised, billy.  First, I read a poem at least twice, more often five or six times to get the feel of the whole thing.  Then it's at least another two close readings (for most poems, although some are pretty simple and don't really require that much interpretation).  I look for specific word choices, how the language interacts to build meaning, how clear that meaning is to me and whether it needs a bit of a key from the writer so that it can be unlocked -- this is the case with a lot of very personal poems, the meaning is obvious to the writer but there are no hints for anyone else, it's more of an inside joke situation.  

Every choice in a poem should be deliberate.  You have so few words to play with, such a little time to make an impact, that the tiniest things make a difference.  Sometimes a poem's effect can hinge on something as small as a line break.  

There are obviously preferences and things that I bring to a reading, but I try to be as objective as possible.  That way, even if I don't particularly like a poem, I can still read and critique it.

[billy]

the site started out without rules in the main. then we just got people who posted their own stuff and nothing else. over the years, about 5 now; the rules have been laid out in order to benefit the just

no one's perfect at anything...okay ella's the perfect mod and Leanne ..well she's just perfect, but that's about it. a good meme though it isn't one i use though i should is: I shall try to be perfect.. i see you've already left feedback on the site. that's as near to being perfect as we hope for round here

'I shall try to be perfect' is a bit of an impossibly high goal don't you think? For me, I'll use: I shall try not to be a huge pain in the butt.
I think it fits better  

And yes, it feels necessary to give feedback to people. I really don't like the fact it has to be a rule. (As in, I don't like that people will drop their poems and not even think of helping other people out.) The past day I spent a lot of time just reading people's critiques around the forum, and I already feel like it will benefit me a lot in my own poetry.  

[Bloodline]

I appreciate the advice in executing critique to a piece of poetry, I will use this as a go to guide as well as trying to identify the techniques used by a writer as well as using my resources to understand and refine further my own knowledge hopefully I can also improve on myself as a bonus to helping my peers, thanks again guys and girls.

[CRNDLSM]

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