read, write, repeat.

This is the hard part.

It’ll happen to you, just you wait, because it happens to everyone. Sooner or later, you will write a bad poem.

I know. I know.

It’ll happen. In fact, most of what you’ve written, especially if you’ve never shown it to anybody ever and keep it locked up in a box under your bed, is probably bad. 

Sorry. Someone had to be the one to say it. It’s the truth. Most of my writing is bad, especially that which I haven’t shown to anyone. The opinions of others matter. 

Not only will you one day write a bad poem, but so will your feedback-friend (henceforth referred to as your f-f). And you will have to read it. Yep. And give a response.

This was a problem I encountered in the last semester of school, when I took a creative writing course, where 50% of our grade came from our feedback on our classmates’ poems. I was all gung-ho to write big long constructive criticisms. That is, until I read their poems.

They were bad. Very bad. Wriggle-around-in-your-seat-you’re-so-embarrassed-by-proxy-bad. Now, to be fair, not all of them were bad. But enough were quite bad that I didn’t know what to do. I had two choices: lie, and say idiotic things like “Oh, I really liked it, I got a good sense of your emotions”; or tell the truth.

I won’t lie. Normally, I would choose the former. But, my grades hung in the balance, and so I bit the bullet and went with the latter.

The problems with the poems in question was 1) the subject matter was trite and overdone (think: “I am so alone, no one understands me” type stuff); 2) the words were dull and uninspiring - or, even worse, “poetic”, which I absolutely hate (you know what I’m talking about, lots of “thou”s and “therefore”s and “oh, beauteous Nature!” type idiocy. people, a hint: it is not 1789. You are not wearing breeches and cavorting in fields of English clover. You are not William Wordsworth. Don’t go there.) 

Here are some tactics I developed for addressing bad poems nicely and with tact (or so I’d like to think):

Start with the positive:

Think about all of the advice you’ve ever received about getting people to see your side of things - dog training, getting your boyfriend to throw out those heinous jeans - it’s all about the praise. Positive reinforcement is key. Key, I tell you! 

Find something that you like about the poem. It might be hard - if it’s all slop, try to go with something more vague. I often commend the person on being courageous enough to share the poem with an audience, or for tackling difficult subject matter. It’s important to remember how it’s far easier to criticise someone’s beloved poem than it is to share your own work. Treat people with the respect and kindness you would want to receive in turn. 

No bones about it…

Tell the truth - but nicely. For instance, say that while you think the subject matter is really interesting, you don’t feel that the words they used were an effective vehicle for their ideas. Explain the important of evocative language, imagery, and saying things in innovative ways. Gently explain that you feel an overhaul of sorts is necessary to salvage the poem. 

Repeat:

Re-iterate what you liked about it, and repeat that you don’t intend to be mean in any way. Remind them that you want to help them to improve, and again, congratulate them on their hardwork and bravery in posting the poem. 

Remember:

One day, you will write a bad poem. And you will want feedback on that poem - you will want non-judgmental, gentle feedback that won’t give you an easy way out. That’s what you should strive for in your own feedback.

Happy feed-backing! (and feeding - I am stoked for my dinner tonight…) 

BookWatch 2010 is now at…16! YES! Additions include: The English American, Skeletons at the Feast, Cards on the Table, Kingfisher Days, and half of The Bishop’s Man (before I threw it across the table and ate a Kashi bar instead. Harrrrumph!) 

ETA: This post was all set to go this morning. Then, just as I hit post, Safari went psycho. Screen-vibrating, Safari-shutting-down psycho. AGH! Entire post lost, had to start from scratch. This is not the first time this has happened - I should move on to Mozilla Firefox. But, oh, Safari, I just can’t quit you.