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Separation Anxiety
With the events unfolding here at the New Neopoet last week
I have come to the realisation
(probably known sometime in the past now but below the surface of conscious recognition)
that we can almost easily separate a poem from its poet (creator)
but it is much more difficult, if at all possible to separate the poet from their poem/s.
There within that truth must reside one of the the keys to the human aspect/consideration of critique.
The purist may argue, compartmentalise, dissect, and reduce all to pedantic methodology
but in the end, the heart of poetry is the articulation of the human soul.
Let us uphold the spirit of the law and not only its letters and jots and tittles.
We may dot our "i"s and cross all our "t"s, but bereft of soul, poetry will be a hollow exercise of pretty
words and technical splendour without passion or dynamism.
Perhaps my aim is to seek a workable blend between the two extremes and that should not be too much to ask for.
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Comments
Kailashana2
Sat, 2011-01-29 08:13
Perhaps the key to this is
Perhaps the key to this is the poet *embodying* his/her poem, else it's just an intellectual endeavor without *soul* that is more actualized spirit, imo..
We know when we read a poem that is visceral AND spiritual, we feel it in our senses, it shakes us from our complacency and lethargy, our laziness to grow into our own poem, as it were. When we do, the reader observes an intake of breath and a momentary silence that feels much like grace.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
~A
crypticbard
Sat, 2011-01-29 08:45
Thanks Kailashana
I suppose this applies more to the spirit in which critique is given rather than or much more so than the spirit in which a poem is published/posted. Providing critique seems a symbiotic balance between stepping into the shoes of the gatekeeper and sentinel of the poetic arts and that of developing, nurturing, and honing the poet as a person and a craftsman/artist. Not an easy task and often abused - when poets/writers open themselves up to critique they make themselves vulnerable and accord power to the would be critic... at this point you give yourself in good faith into the hands of someone that hopefully isn't unscrupulous, unfeeling, and power hungry. And in the real world we can never guarantee the idyllic. Yes, we should "embody" our poems but also allow for contingencies in the unlikely event that it gets thrown in our faces or ignored. And we must always remind ourselves that we write for our Muse and ourselves first and foremost. If we cannot be true to ourselves then as you say, it will reflect in our work, and that will be exposed to the astute reader. We all need that grace in that moment when the poem inspires while it is read.
__________________________________________________
'write on! let these words free.'
author commentKailashana2
Sat, 2011-01-29 10:01
Yes!
Yes!
The poet writes his/her self and the author of any critique is subject to more scrutiny than the poem. Who is more *vulnerable*?
I wonder why that is. Is it because we fear and have issues with our own *inner critic*? We project it to the *outer* critic? Much critiquing/criticism devolves into a stance-taking/positioning, as if a battle is forthcoming...
To be open and aware enough to actually look at the critique and not the one writing/saying it takes *bollocks* in my opinion. It also makes for improving one's art.
~A
Orphani
Sat, 2011-01-29 14:01
Fear has no place in poetry.
Fear has no place in poetry. This statement can be both true and false depending on the readers interpretation of the broader implications that are not specified. To be afraid to say what you believe, in a poem, or a critique, because you think the poet is fragile opens up; or closes rather one of the prime reasons that neo exists. To be a poetry workshop. There is a prudent responsibility required of the critiquer to be honest respectful and hopefully to have the interests of the poet and Neo first and foremost as their goal.When the poetry site becomes the prime peddling grounds for amateur psychologists who limit critique to positive comments only; the site then degenerates into a feel good club where poetry is only the means of therapy. In and of itself there's nothing wrong with poetry as therapeutic, and we all recognize the value of this,but I don't want to see the full possibilities of neo suppressed by a narrow few who are intolerant of the possibility that they can improve as poets by the mention of a less then glowing appraisal. Simply; ego needs a counterbalance, and this is a plea for lets get real. Everyone is free to disagree I hope. In writing this blog at least we can see who's interested, and where those who care stand.