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Home » Poems & Poetry » Blogs » ARE YOU YOUR OWN BIGGEST CRITIC?

ARE YOU YOUR OWN BIGGEST CRITIC? - Brian Strand's Blog

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English experiential poet of open verse& creator of the FOOTLE (singular form)&EMAGI digital reverse ekphrasis.A regular @PS since 2007 ,with 9500+ poems posted&sponsor of 1260 contests ( Amazon books- (500+) reviews)GOOGLE my POETRY BLOGS @https://www.blogger.com/profile/02166493604739619406.Read an Ekphrasis e-book for free @ http://free-ekphrasis-ebook.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARE YOU YOUR OWN BIGGEST CRITIC?

Blog Posted:7/8/2017 5:21:00 AM

The late Phillip Larkin, renown English poet(recently featured in a blog here) was a librarian by profession and also an inveterate letter writer and diarist.

He also disparaged his own poetry and was apparently  a relentless self critic according to his published letters..

 

Are you, even as hobbyist poets  in the Larkin mould ? if so how do you express it?

 



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Macmillan Avatar
Cyndi
Macmillan
Date: 7/8/2017 8:59:00 PM
Some poems I revise less than others. Usually, when my writes are inspired by my daughter, when they are truly FOR her, then I find that I just let them fall to the page & I may tuck a line back into bed, but usually I am happy with them because they are between the two of us. When I write for journals, I clip & shunt & rewire & shift &hone & on & on. I am highly critical of poems which are for a submission. Still, even with those, I reach a place of 'closure.' I glide between poems written for loved ones & poems written for submissions & sometimes the intentions intersect ... and that is doubly hard! I want to stay loyal to the free expression, yet tighten my reins! In order to reach my goal to have a book of poetry published traditionally, I must learn what aspects of my work are weak and require change and what is fine as is. It's a learning process. Writing makes me happy. Learning makes me happy. Revision and fine-tuning my work actually makes me happy. Publication has made me happy. Getting paid for doing what I love and what makes me happy, feels as if I'm on track with making a dream a reality. Good blog and great question, Brian.
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Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 7/9/2017 3:49:00 AM
Cyndi, I found (less so though with my poetry)with my art,painting too much 'tinkering' can spoil the original inspirational image.Sometimes best to let it be
Macmillan Avatar
Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 7/8/2017 9:02:00 PM
I do see what being critical ENOUGH can do for a poem (improve it) and I also see what being overly-critical, self-effacing and the inner "this is not perfect" voice can do to a poem(destroy it, crash and burn)!!
Turner Avatar
Daniel
Turner
Date: 7/8/2017 1:57:00 PM
I am indeed my harshest critic. I am forever going back and rereading old poems and tweaking them. My ignorance of poetry makes me feel inferior. I usually write about what is on my mind. Sometimes my opinions change which means I'll go back and rewrite a poem. I can't say that I am ever truly satisfied. I always strive for perfection, so I always fall short in my own assessment of my ability.
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Pachecho Avatar
Connie
Pachecho
Date: 7/8/2017 12:37:00 PM
The only claim I have is the bunny trail. Even then I fall. Maybe one of these days the training wheels we'll come off, the light will go off, a spark ... who knows? Anyway I'm not bored, having fun. The thing is, I really laugh at what I write, laugh at myself. I've try this, try that, it all good. In October it will be one memorable year.
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Allison Avatar
Jan
Allison
Date: 7/8/2017 10:13:00 AM
I write purely for fun, as a self confessed hater of poetry when I was at school I am amazed how much I now enjoy writing since I wrote my first poem in Nov 2013 when my hubby had cancer surgery. I never post a poem I'm not happy with and often write about poop - I just let other's be critical of that lol:-) hugs Jan xx
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Allison Avatar
Jan Allison
Date: 7/8/2017 10:41:00 AM
If you'd told me 5 years ago I'd be writing poetry I would have laughed heartily but my husband's cancer changed all that and I now try and spread the message that poetry is fun. On Wednesday I was at the far end of the Island and signing a visitor's book at a church flower festival and a guy asked me if I wrote funny poems as he'd seen me at my first ever open mike event which was over a year ago... he loved my funny poems!! It's beautiful and sunny and we've not had the searing heat that some areas of the UK have experienced recently:-) hugs Jan xx
Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 7/8/2017 10:35:00 AM
Yes Jan, life is an unending story of change and opportunity.Trust this sunny weather is around in IOM
Krampe Avatar
Agnes
Krampe
Date: 7/8/2017 6:24:00 AM
Yes and no. As a perfectionist in most areas of my life, I had to make a conscious effort not to be too critical about my art; otherwise I would not dare to write, sing, take photographs. I strive for improvement, but I actively work on controlling the inner critic; she kills the joy. So I know that some poems are exercises, like etudes on the piano, and not destined for a life beyond a soup contest. I have accepted that I won't reach the level of my favorite poets, and it causes me no anguish. It is important for my mental well being to love and accept myself. Ofc course I work to improve, but I don't tie my self worth to the quality of my work.
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Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 7/8/2017 10:37:00 AM
Yes Agnes, the 'studies' will lead to the concertos and perhaps a symphony or two

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