Comments on: A Bunch of Hypercrits http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/2009/03/a-bunch-of-hypercrits/ Poetry Editor and Struggling Poet Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:27:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Lois P. Jones http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/2009/03/a-bunch-of-hypercrits/#comment-388 Lois P. Jones Mon, 04 May 2009 18:22:03 +0000 http://timothy-green.org/blog/?p=597#comment-388 In a course with Tom Daley last year part of the submission process involved his review of my critique on a poem chosen by him for this purpose. He wanted to be sure that participants were grounded in critique essentials which for me was a novel but important approach to workshopping. How much of critique involves opinion, taste or bias and how much do we really invest in discovering and analysing a poem? Tom requested that I write a paragraph detailing why and how the poem was working and then an additional paragraph offering ways in which the poem could be improved. I was asked to address the poem, not the author which demanded that I provide an analytical, almost detached response to the work. This was a major lesson in itself. Of course the subject here is about offering critique when it is not being solicited and I tend to agree with you that it is not the correct context for critical feedback. I think the poetry world is overcritical and it begins with the self and moves toward anything within target range. A prankster on an on-line workshop forum once posted a somewhat unknown poem by a famous author under a different name just to see what type of response it would receive. Most everyone had an opinion for improvement and it was on the whole a good albeit covert test of not only our tendency to try to improve on anything given the excuse to do so but that perhaps there are more great works that could be "improved" than not. Perhaps this obsession with perfection is in fact a flaw disguised as help. Maybe art needs to be less perfect and simply experienced for what it is. Lois In a course with Tom Daley last year part of the submission process involved his review of my critique on a poem chosen by him for this purpose. He wanted to be sure that participants were grounded in critique essentials which for me was a novel but important approach to workshopping. How much of critique involves opinion, taste or bias and how much do we really invest in discovering and analysing a poem? Tom requested that I write a paragraph detailing why and how the poem was working and then an additional paragraph offering ways in which the poem could be improved. I was asked to address the poem, not the author which demanded that I provide an analytical, almost detached response to the work. This was a major lesson in itself. Of course the subject here is about offering critique when it is not being solicited and I tend to agree with you that it is not the correct context for critical feedback. I think the poetry world is overcritical and it begins with the self and moves toward anything within target range. A prankster on an on-line workshop forum once posted a somewhat unknown poem by a famous author under a different name just to see what type of response it would receive. Most everyone had an opinion for improvement and it was on the whole a good albeit covert test of not only our tendency to try to improve on anything given the excuse to do so but that perhaps there are more great works that could be “improved” than not. Perhaps this obsession with perfection is in fact a flaw disguised as help. Maybe art needs to be less perfect and simply experienced for what it is.

Lois

]]> By: Almost Cured of Misogyny, Still Have a Cough » Timothy Green http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/2009/03/a-bunch-of-hypercrits/#comment-387 Almost Cured of Misogyny, Still Have a Cough » Timothy Green Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:41:59 +0000 http://timothy-green.org/blog/?p=597#comment-387 [...] even briefer follow-up to last week’s post — three days after “Death and Tacos” went viral, so did Brian Trimboli’s [...] [...] even briefer follow-up to last week’s post — three days after “Death and Tacos” went viral, so did Brian Trimboli’s [...]

]]> By: Sandra Leigh http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/2009/03/a-bunch-of-hypercrits/#comment-386 Sandra Leigh Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:44:28 +0000 http://timothy-green.org/blog/?p=597#comment-386 <i>The tens of thousands of people who read the poem simply read it and moved on.</i> Some of us read it and then read it to friends, then bookmarked it so that we could find it and read it again. <i>"I know what I like."</i> Sandra The tens of thousands of people who read the poem simply read it and moved on.

Some of us read it and then read it to friends, then bookmarked it so that we could find it and read it again.

“I know what I like.”

Sandra

]]> By: Garden Party » Timothy Green http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/2009/03/a-bunch-of-hypercrits/#comment-385 Garden Party » Timothy Green Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:59:48 +0000 http://timothy-green.org/blog/?p=597#comment-385 [...] been meaning to write a follow-up to Monday’s post about reader response, but it’s new-issue week for me — typesetting Rattle #31 before [...] [...] been meaning to write a follow-up to Monday’s post about reader response, but it’s new-issue week for me — typesetting Rattle #31 before [...]

]]> By: Tim http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/2009/03/a-bunch-of-hypercrits/#comment-384 Tim Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:11:27 +0000 http://timothy-green.org/blog/?p=597#comment-384 Jenn--I think that's a good idea. I'm editing our interview with Terrance Hayes right now, for the summer issue, and he talks about this: HAYES: I tell my students there are as many ways to succeed as there are to fail. The typical workshop suggests there are more ways to fail than to succeed and I just tend to not believe that. Jenn–I think that’s a good idea. I’m editing our interview with Terrance Hayes right now, for the summer issue, and he talks about this:

HAYES: I tell my students there are as many ways to succeed as there are to fail. The typical workshop suggests there are more ways to fail than to succeed and I just tend to not believe that.

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