____________________________________________________________________ Changeable, Prevaricating Mother, You'd Be One F**ked Up Kid In the time span of three years and some odd months I've spent either on, or reading internet poetry boards, I've watched the same characters flame and deride one another, yet in the blink of an eye or at the prospect of an award, will throw their arms around their erstwhile enemies pronouncing rejoiceful love for every poet there, for all the world to hear and I tell you it is crazy-making. I am a person who observes carefully; who reaches conclusions based on observation and whose behavior is the result of those conclusions, so it's hard for me to understand this 'boomerang' response, nor would I take fellow writers seriously who routinely subscribe to it. These shameless boomerangs fly from board to board like clouds of ping pong balls; in my opinion that renders both the praise and the pounding garnered on boards- meaningless. Posters too often post their moods or personal issues as critiques. I have seen more than my share of emotional 'goop' associated with board posting. Popular poets are read and have a definite edge when it comes to having their writing commented on by the group, while 'newbies' struggle through without a name to trigger an immediate mouse click, so that even when their work is superior, it may get little more than a nod until their name is known. Anonymous posting is frowned upon: I think it should be standard for that very reason. Read the poem, not the poet. Words stand alone. They should not need the heralding of reputation to be read. I've been close to poets who, over time, came to dislike boards, yet will dive back in without constraint, apparently having forgotten what it was that soured them on posting originally. Note: i get that old sick feeling again, realizing Less than two months after these words, this writer was on the boards again, lavishing praise and rubbing elbows, taking bows and accepting inclusion into the very ezines and boards so rabidly despised; yes--it's crazy-making. bad poets lessen our aim in poetry and I've read many a griping and carping about what poetry farms or popularity contests the boards evolve into--- yet poets return. My advice is: write alone. Write with your own critical eye. Believe those who have nothing to gain or lose by voicing an opinion of your work: that is nearer truth. Trust your voice. Believe in yourself; in the long run it's a lot simpler and certainly more stable than looking to others to pronounce you either 'poet' or 'killer lion on the savannah'. Give thought to where and how you cast your words: some people do possess long memories, and for pity's sake, take yourself seriously- or no one else will. Rearranging old poems, tacking on new titles to simply have something to put out there for comment is a poor substitute for genuine creativity and I see this happening a lot. It makes me wonder and it makes me sad. Ideally, boards sound like a good idea: bodies of percolating minds, stimulating each other, supporting each other, sparking off of one another's intellects--- the reality is that it's an exercise in preening, politics and exposure and none of those things have anything to do with actually writing, and if it's not about writing--what IS it about, anyway? |
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