Don't Post Poetry Here!!! Talk about anything or need a shoulder to cry on? Share your thoughts and emotions here:
8/21/2015 11:48:47 PM
George LeBlanc
Posts: 7
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 Does it seem that way to anyone or is it just me? I realize that there are many who are more than willing to encourage a fellow writer by commenting on his or her poems if they have read one or more of them. But what does puzzle me is the seemingly overwhelming number of those who read without offering even the smallest response. I can honestly say that I do not understand how fifty people can read a poem and say nothing about it. I do not think I am alone in seeking an answer to this riddle. It seems that even the administration of this site gives no real thought to the problem. Of course, I may be wholly incorrect in that assumption,
but I rarely hear the problem even mentioned. Now, you may wonder If I am speaking of my own poems which are read without comment. I will not lie, for it has exasperated me on occasions. But, as one of our poets exclaimed, "My Poetry Must Suck" I doubt that his poetry sucked any more than others who not won the a Pulitzer. Well, when all is said and done, I realize that we all care about what we are attempting to convey through our poetry. But I do wonder if it is possible for people to care a little more about others before they care about themselves. That certainly goes against human nature, doesn't it? I know I am going to make a greater effort to offer an encouraging word before expecting to receive one.
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The words whisper when they are ready to be born.
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8/25/2015 8:39:32 AM
Glory Winzer
Posts: 14
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Hear, hear!!
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1/19/2016 11:52:18 PM
Rainbow Promise
Posts: 60
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"...But what does puzzle me is the seemingly overwhelming number of those who read without offering even the smallest response. I can honestly say that I do not understand how fifty people can read a poem and say nothing about it."
I think that persons have various interests, favorite poets, like special forms, and some do not like long poems. That said, I think that the administrators push for members to encourage and build up each other, not frustrate them! Seeing how many comments some poets get could cause one to believe that he/she cannot write, feel a little jealous or not write at all. You can also try phrasing the title so that it draws attention at first glance.
I do not understand, why some would read a poem, make NO comments, then a month or so after, clip it off and post on another site! How do persons get onto your personal page? If I should attend a function and someone got up to recite one of my "stolen" poems, they would have to call me crazy because I will claim it along with them!
I hope that they truthfully say the poems are not theirs, and give credit where it's due. God is seeing as well as hearing these false things!
edited by Cala Lilly on 1/19/2016
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8/4/2016 2:38:00 PM
Paul Crabbe
Posts: 1
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I was about to delete my account as fed up with this very situation . According to the site I am getting my poems read I question that. I post the same poem into other sites and I get feed back right away lots of it . So tell me this is a true record and not some BS computer generated nonsence.
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8/7/2016 3:31:00 PM
Bob Atkinson
Posts: 294
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Send me one of your poems Paul if you really wish the truth (probably not).
Google: poetry critic
Regards,
Bob Atkinson
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9/23/2016 11:17:58 AM
Keith Logan
Posts: 27
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There is one poetry site I long ago gave up posting poems on because of an utter dearth of response. I still visit it to offer encouragement to others.
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10/1/2016 3:02:41 PM
keith osborne
Posts: 59
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Wow Bob Atkinson is one of the most pompously arrogant commentors that i have read. As if you are the end all be all voice of what is good poetry.
To the subject at hand: I have had this very problem on another site. One poem 245 views and 1 comment? Even had it featured on the page, and 1 comment? That is why I came here, but I see that nothing is any different.
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1/4/2017 1:28:39 AM
Doug Vinson
Posts: 102
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There are lots of reasons for views with no comments. Some people like short poems, and will skip over long ones. Others want prose. Or no prose. Others want rhymes. Others want no rhymes. PoetrySoup's policy seems pretty strict - I think especially to new members - " Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth." I think this scares some people off, i.e. if they don't have anything really nice to say, they say nothing at all.
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9/7/2017 12:30:56 PM
Jack Webster
Posts: 255
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i think this site has a lot of new/ inexperienced poets that may feel uncomfortable critiquing others work, either because they don't know what to say that would make it better, or they lack confidence to make an honest criticism.
i think at the other end there are very experienced poets that look at some poems that are so uninitiated that they don't even know where to start, or feel that leaving any comment at all would only be met with hurt feelings. What does one say when everything must be fixed?
then in the middle are the poems that are just fine as they are. not fantastic, not horrible, but enjoyable.
the problem with inexperienced poets not critiquing is that they never learn to exercise the ability to analyse a poem - what they think works, what they think doesn't work, and why - not necessarily what they like and dont like, but the actual craft and technique that accomplishes (or doesn't accomplish something). Does the poem make you feel happy? why? Does it make you feel sad? Why? Can you feel sunlight even though the poet never says anything about sunlight? How? Don't know? imagine the different ways the author could have said the same information, and see how the feeling changes:
he put the flower to his nose.
the man lifted the peony and savoured its scent.
he shoved his nose into the flower, breaking the tender petals as his hairy nostrils stole their sweetness.
His head fell. The shadow of his face slipped into the petals, and was lost.
He craddled the flower, the edges of its petals gathered around the heart of a dense galaxy, and inhaled.
in all four the man is smelling the flower. each has a different feeling.
in a five examples the man is smelling the flower. the feeling is how its said. if an inexperienced poet feels something, they shouldn't be afraid to say what, and why, or examine why. "i don't know why, but your poem makes me feel happy. maybe its jow you describe..." or "i know i should feel .... when you said... but im not sure why i don't. what if you said..." i think those are easy and fair critiques even for someone new to poetry to make.
the problem with experienced poets being too proud to read begginers poems and to give feedback is because the values of mature poetry aren't passed down and you end up with inexperienced poets reinforcing ineffective poetry. its not terribly hard to make some people feel something. hallmark cards do it everyday. but, to do it with maturity and sophistication requires both a willingness to be critiqued AND the willingness of experienced poets to help inform and educate inatead of whining about their delicate pallettes.
to say "they just don't get it..." may be true, but to just walk away and not at least give somewhere to start just ensures inexperienced poets will turn to other inexperienced poets for guidance and affirmation instead the poetic language being passed on.
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9/7/2017 1:37:15 PM
Gayle Rodd
Posts: 26
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Hi - in response to this question,Could it be that the poems on Poetrysoup are going out all over, so maybe it's people who are reading them that are NOT on Poetrysoup and don't wish to sign up ?? Whenever someone reads it from another place on the web, does that count as a view too? I guess that would be more for one of the staff members to answer since I'm not sure what the process is. If that's the case though, it would make more sense.
edited by Mari' on 9/7/2017
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9/8/2017 5:07:59 PM
keith osborne
Posts: 59
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Jack Webster said:
i think at the other end there are very experienced poets that look at some poems that are so uninitiated that they don't even know where to start, or feel that leaving any comment at all would only be met with hurt feelings. What does one say when everything must be fixed?
I hate to believe that this is the only reason "experienced" poets do not comment on a novice's poem. That disheartens me! So what am I to think, then, when so many view my poetry without commenting? That my work is horrible? lacks meaning? doesn't hold form? Or that I should just stop doing what I love to do?
edited by hempleaves13 on 9/8/2017
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9/13/2017 12:09:32 AM
Jack Webster
Posts: 255
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Keith,
no. poems are like breaths. you don't ask if there should be another one. you just keep on going. shallow, deep, well or hurried, you just keep on going, and it gives you life.
so what if people don't comment? they could be snobs, shy, bored, lots of reasons.
they are excellent poetry manuals, especially by Mary Oliver and Ted Kooser.
If you wish to dig deep, classical poets wrote essays about poetry. it would take research, but they still exist. resesrch the leaders of the poetic movements, and see if they wrote essays or trestises about their style of poetry.
if nothing else, reading poems from skilled authors exposes you to their values. What did they write about? why did they feel it was important? who do they write about? what was their relationship to life that made them see existence that way?
grab a pencil, mark syllables for lexical stress, count syllables, weigh the morae, examine the relationship of breath and phrasing, of phrasing and line breaks punctuation and commas. if you mark out lexical stress, is there symmetry of sound, are there repeating patterns.
Underline consonance, circle assonance. Mary Oliver has a fantadtic section on the dynamics of each family of consonants and how they may be used skillfully.
If one is patient, with a pencil and thorough examination, each poem itself may teach something. For example, some of John Keats sonnets abandon regular iambic pentameter, but constrains himself to 10 syllables per line, 5 stresses per line, and the last foot of each line must be an iamb.
ALWAYS READ POEMS OUT LOUD. when you're studying them read syllable for syllable, don't rush through them, o ever emphasize the stresses to hear the pattern. Look for poets that use elegant meter - doesn't have to be regular meter, but beautiful meter - generally speaking, having more than 3 stressed syllables in a row is getting into dangerous territory unless there is an artistic reason for it. Even more than 2 stressed syllables back to back sticks out very boldly. building space and room to breathe in a line is important
anyhoo, I'm rambling now.
the answer is, you just keep going. poem = breath. keep breathing.
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