I hesitate to ask this question?

Question

because I have only been in this forum a short while and I don't want to sound critical. But why do so many people use the poetry section to ask for critiques of their own poems? Surely they should go to a poetry website for that? (There are loads of them.) I trawl through the poetry section to find interesting questions about poetry because I want to answer where I can, but mainly because I want to learn about poetry by reading the answers of other people who are far more qualified in literature than I am. Isn't that the great thing about YA - learning from others? There are some brilliant people here. How much can you learn from the myriad posts that begin, "What do you think of my poem?"

Answer 1

I agree wholeheartedly, however it is a free forum and people should therefore be allowed to post pretty much whatever they wish on here, within reason of course.



What I am critical of is that much of what gets posted on here is actually pretty awful. Nor are those who answer always the most knowledgable. So I am left wondering what it actually achieves for the poet who does post their work on here.



Either it is awful and they get upset when you give them that as an honest opinion.



Alternatively it can be good and they will still get criticism.



Even if everybody says how wonderful the poetry is, that still does not constitute proper criticism.

Answer 2

It is the wrong place to post these kinds of questions, after all, there is a homework section where people don't mind the natue of the question.



I do mind. And I'm very vocal about it. My main concern is born from the fact that I am a published poet and I believe that giving students these answers does nothing toward producing new readers and therefore is harmful to the art. I, and most everyone I know, acquired familiarity and appreciation for poetry by doing these kinds of assignments. Some of my all-time favorites are poems that I was assigned in school. I might not ever have spent the time or known how wonderful they were, or learned to read (and therefore write) a poem properly, if someone had spoiled it for me.



Secondly, the questioner who uses the ill-gotten answer is committing an academic crime and that makes the answerer a willing accomplice to the crime. No penalty for being the accomplice, but it is an ethical breach, and I can hope that karma is keeping tabs.



Now as far as posting poems go, if it keeps them away from the likes of poetry.com, then it's a good thing. No one forces anyone to read bad poetry, everyone here has a choice. As someone known to offer critiques I try not to waste my time on people who are only interested in positive affirmations and not really interested in bettering their work and developing their craft. It's less frustrating for me the answerer.

Answer 3

One of the things most enjoyable about the governing PROSE written as th US constitution, is the 1st ammendment.



Yahoo poetry category in Q & A, is no less valid than any post poetry site on the planet, in fact far more valid than some.



Certainly people will ask "How do you like it? Will you rate it please?" Etc. That need not condemn them to being less inspired, poetic, prolific, opinionated, unafraid to express publically, than anyone else. Sometimes just a simple confirmation, an "atta boy" works wonders.



To exhibit the bravery to post publically, no matter the venue, is a valid way to self affirm, at least, that they have something to say, that might be valid to someone else. Obviously some submissions might seem simplistic, abstract, outside narrowly defined guidlines, but to express, emotionally, passionately, can hardly be judged.



This forum is visited and subscribed to by Millions, globally. If you have something to share, I have to assume, that if you only touch one of 8 billion possibles, you've achieved some level of success.



You can LEARN, those defined technicalities here and most anywhere in a general search of the WWW. You can also exercise our species greatest freedom. CHOICE, and follow a different path in expressing. It really is far less complicated than what so often ends up in overthinking the issue.



What you can learn depends on an open mind, and the desire to READ or absorb, what it is the writer may be trying to say, even if it sounds simplistic, or someone just following the Yahoo format that dictates a "?" at the end of every posted question/inquiry.



By the way, very often, those of us who answer might be respectful, even if we want to offer a one word answer, "NO!" or "I think it's Bin material",,etc. etc. etc.



Steven Wolf

just my two "sense"

Answer 4

I post poems all over the net. The idea is to get as many opinions as possible. This is a poetry section and I find it perfectly acceptable to ask about your poetry here. I understand your reasoning, but it is very difficult to limit the site to just one type of question.

Answer 5

You can report those posts that you feel violate the community guidelines.



What is considered “chat”?



Yahoo! Answers is a question-and-answer community of people sharing knowledge. We provide a couple of different ways for members to connect with one another, including email, instant message, and a comments area, so chatting in questions and answers is not allowed. When people use Answers to chat with each other, it lowers the quality of the site and inhibits knowledge-sharing.



Here are a few examples of what we consider chatting:



How (are you, old are you, was your day, is everyone today)?

What are you/What am I (doing, thinking of, wearing, etc.)?

Guess my/Can you guess my/What's your (name, age, sex, weight, birthday, location, etc.)?

Do you like my (avatar, web site, poem, etc.)?*



We also consider questions that call out other users by name to be chatting. If the intent is to ask a follow-up question in response to someone else’s question and that person is not available via email or IM, post a new question that’s open to everyone in the community to answer – there might be someone else who’s better equipped to answer it.



* Please note that exceptions to this rule would have to satisfy two criteria: The question would have to be 1) advice-seeking and 2) knowledge-worthy. For example, it would be OK to ask, "How can I improve my poem?" or "How do I make my avatar look more attractive?"

Answer 6

This site allows poets or would-be poets to communicate their feeling and to receive advice from each other. Many young students attempt poetry and most of them are open to suggestions. Y!A is a forum for opinion as well as information; therefore there is nothing wrong or unethical to ask for the public's opinion on one's poetry--or anything else, for that matter.

Answer 7

This is a poetry website.



The way to learn is to practice. I am a much better poet today than I was when I arrived here this time last year. (Yes, my old account got deleted)



A good and fair critique is a very valuable answer.



Now, bring on the goods!

Answer 8

Literature is meant to be both read and written. It's equally valid to explore the literary greats as well as young students trying to get a handle on it.



I've found that for some of the "what do you think" questions - it's valuable to point those authors to some of the great poems for guidance.

Answer 9

I say poem schmoem. Poems are just stories by people with an attention deficit. Poetry is what heroin addicts do when they are not jacking up.

Answer 10

perhaps they are getting critiques from other places other then this? they just want some oppinions like everyone els i supose. getting to know what people like in a poem could also help that person grow as a poet.