Some Neopoet members who have been around for a while will remember me being much more aggressive and opinionistic.

I got to to tell you, I have learned more about poetry and more about what I don't know about poetry here than I ever learned at University.

I didn't happen to pick up much humility, but I reckon that's an affectation anyway.

I've read poets here who have literally changed my life, and poets who I would rather bury deep in a pile of shit than read any of their work again. And told both types so.

I have realised why so much poetry on Neopoet has been boring me to tears lately.
There have been great ideas, profound emotional content, superb craftsmanship of form.

And a sad lack of musicality and originality of language. We have one of the most powerful, diverse linguistic tools in the world, the English language. And yet we use rhinestones and sequins instead of brilliant gems.

Geezer hosted a great chat, much fun and even some seriousness. We decided to do some limericks on the darkside.

Dark and dirty limericks, an old classic started us off-

There was a young man from Belgrave
who kept a dead whore in a cave
he said I admit
I'm a bit of a shlt
but think of the money I save

i finally fixed that flat
the left on upon the old bat
she squeeked and she moaned
someone thought she was boned
and that was just with a cat

That's one hundred and thirteen degrees Fahrenheit!
My exclamation mark rule goes out the window.
So hot so fucking hot.
Luckily the night before last I had the presence of mind to make an ice mold of my body. Then I positioned it at the foot of my bed which I raised at the head. So as my body melted it flowed into the ice mold and was preserved.

I'm so fucking clever, I deserve a medal. I got a cool day instead.
That's cool.

is mostly pretty crap poetry. Not crap poets, but their worst works.

This bears thinking about.

I go through the list often, and I find it hard to say something nice to say.

Don't be hard on yurself, we all write wrotten poems sometimes.

They're short, do check them out. The Subject of Language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHQ2756cyD8

Beauty and Ideas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RQzRhH67Q0

Poetry Prize
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx_YY_frOvQ

Grow a vagina, they are much tougher than balls. Neopoet goes through periods of wimpy mutual masturbartorium and periods of great critique, we are going through a bad one now.

This is NOT a social site, nor a place to express our personal puerile self expression, it is a workshop

On a warm, clear spring day the phone rings,
"I'm terrific, never better, and you?"
"There'll be no weather tomorrow"

No weather, any more, ever.

consider contributing. It might not just produce beautiful poetry, but will help us as a community of poets

Thanks, I believe to Beau and Judyanne's critique workshops.

The poem is the poet.

It's not the same as novels, we write truth or silly Pam Ayres nonsense.

I can enjoy nonsense but if we want to invigorate poetry we need to tell the truth, not just make clever play on words.

Especially not be sentimental trite morons.