Sorella, our champion fluffer, has raised an issue about critique in the comments. She finds it scary and inhibiting. I suspect she is not alone in this. Now, this exercise is modeled partly after Sevens, where the idea is to get poetry out there by lowering one's inhibitions and removing the expectation that everything be perfect. So cheering each other on and maintaining a positive attitude are important here. It's a marathon!
At the same time, I value giving and getting critical commentary, and I want to open up space for that. Therefore, I propose the following rules.
Leave a note at the top of your poem saying whether you want fluff and critique, or just fluff. If somebody requests just fluff, and you critique, I will delete your comment. I am not going to delete fluff, however. Fluff away!
In critiques, you must say at least one positive thing about the poem. Entirely negative comments will be deleted. Honestly, I think this is good for the critter as well as the poet.
Comments on others' comments are permitted. Here, a similar guideline applies: find one positive, worthwhile thing to take away from the other person's comment, or don't respond. I reserve the right to cut off conversations that get nasty or personal. (That's a bit nebulous and subjective, so I will warn people before closing comment threads.)
Anything I missed? Tell me in the comments!
At the same time, I value giving and getting critical commentary, and I want to open up space for that. Therefore, I propose the following rules.
Leave a note at the top of your poem saying whether you want fluff and critique, or just fluff. If somebody requests just fluff, and you critique, I will delete your comment. I am not going to delete fluff, however. Fluff away!
In critiques, you must say at least one positive thing about the poem. Entirely negative comments will be deleted. Honestly, I think this is good for the critter as well as the poet.
Comments on others' comments are permitted. Here, a similar guideline applies: find one positive, worthwhile thing to take away from the other person's comment, or don't respond. I reserve the right to cut off conversations that get nasty or personal. (That's a bit nebulous and subjective, so I will warn people before closing comment threads.)
Anything I missed? Tell me in the comments!
P.S. While I'm at it, I decree that, per Sorella's suggestion, "crit" is a strong verb. What have you critten today?
ReplyDeleteI like being critiqued (critted?) but I would like to be able to edit & fix my posts (hence the second blog link). Good idea to offer an option.
ReplyDeleteArlene, I had a look at the blog using Bugs Bunny, instead of my own account, to check what other blog contributors see. While you can't edit blog posts written by other people (e.g., me) you can edit posts made by you. So while this Thursday has been a bit of a mess (with me copying and pasting from the comments), it shouldn't be a problem with future poems (which you can post under your own name, and edit). Feel free to post both here and on your own blog, as well.
ReplyDelete