Essay Review: Are Poetry Boards Good For Poetry, The antithesis of 'What do poets enjoy most at MM' Options

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hello all,

Rus from the IBPC has put forth a new email loop and link even as some of our members are still researching the first, "What do poets enjoy the most about your forums" at the link below.
What do our poets enjoy the most at MM?

In this new thread, we'll look at an antithesis to that one. Click into this article carried by an E-zine:
The Pee in the Pool of On Line Poetry, by Terreson

This article focuses on the questions posed at its start: Are poetry boards good for poetry?

Do the boards benefit poets, the new and inexperienced especially who, in most cases, are grappling with the vital stuff of finding an authentic voice, gaining confidence in themselves, working through the canon, trying to figure out if they have something essential to say, and all at the same time? Do the boards, viewed as communities, engender poetry whose language is also authentic or do they falsify the poetry experience? Another question comes to mind. Is even the notion of an online poetry community good for poetry? And maybe one last question. What impact on poets, and on poetry itself, do the parameters, the rules of conduct and the by-laws, of many boards have?

As we all strive to build a knowledge base of what makes a poetry forum work best for the poets who sign into our forums, let's also examine what we do that is not working.

Please share your own thoughts here.

I, for one, hesitated on posting this thread, but do agree with some of what the essay alludes to; SOME, not all as you'll soon read for yourself.

Cheers,
~Cleo

[Guest_Terreson_*]

Well, folks, I am the guy who wrote the essay that seems to have caused a bit of a stir. Rus Bowden mentioned your link on his Clattery board and so I figured I would take a look at what ya'll do. Hope that is okay.

About my article, writing it caused me a lot of hurt. Its reception has caused considerably more. But the comments made had to be made. I am more than happy to entertain objections to what the essay points out. In the meantime I wouldn't mind finding cyber-spaces where poetry is taken for real.

Terreson.

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hello Terreson and welcome to MM.

Your essay has caused those who've read it, to ponder your points through debate. If I were you, I would be pleased that it is causing such a stir. As with everything in life, people are going to have their own opinions - if we were all to have the same ones, wouldn't life be boring? Hell yes! Perhaps, if you feel hurt by the reactions of your poetic peers, you should consider writing another essay, like sort of a rebuttal to further detail your reasons for why you feel that way about poetry forums?

I agree with you on some of your points, but not all. I'm sure others will think as I do. Not every forum can be labeled the same way, nor can the cultures of each be bucketed into one category. It doesn't work that way, thank god! I think the heart of your essay comes through - do the cultures presented at poetry communities foster the appreciation of the poetry experience? OR, does it falsify that experience? This is a HUGE question and you're likely to get a different answer from each person you ask. Are they wrong? Nope. And keep in mind, depending on what their particular experiences have been, it will undoubtedly be a very 'biased' opinion.

I'm curious, what was it that triggered your interest in writing the essay? You state, "But the comments made had to be made." Why? Reinforce your reasons with supporting data. Or is that what the essay is? After all, it's YOUR opinion, and readers need to keep that in mind.

To break down your points, there's a lot to swallow. I have no problem chatting about each topic below as it relates to this forum, Mosaic Musings.

Notions of Community.
Our board rules are very specific with regard to 'code of conduct'. Our goal is to provide an educational environment in a friendly, relaxed setting, and members know that remarks that steer to the side of being unlawful, harmful, threatening, obscene, abusive, tortuous, defamatory, libelous, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable are cause to have that member put on a warning (and mod preview status), with said commentary being moved to a private, staff-only forum. Rarely, do we just do that 'on the fly'. Spammers, flamers, trolls are immediately banned. I think your comment about 'be nice' is true to an extent; this forum is designed for poets to exchange their know-how with forms and devices of poetry that they have an expertise in, to enhance the message of another's voice. One must always remember, when you crit a thread, crit the work, not the poet. This is where the heart of 'community' comes into play. We're not going to ban someone off the cuff because they were crass, but it becomes clear pretty quickly what the intent is of those who demonstrate unfriendly, rude and/or insulting mannerisms, and generally the same outcomes end up happening: they piss off the regulars to the point that it does not warrant the need to keep those kinds of exchanges in the public and then they get put on warning or banned.

Poet/Critic Dialogue.
We encourage the exchange of feedback and even have an award system for threads that have more than 25 replies. Having said that, quick one line 'atta-boys' are frowned upon here as that doesn't do anything to help the poet enhance their message, does it? It's a give and take process. I've said this before, you get out what you put in. There is a tendency to offer the same level of criticism that you've received in your own threads. Those that offer light comments, will most likely receive light comments in return, which changes over time and the members get to know each other better. I always have this saying, know the subject, when you choose the poems you will critique. I don't mean, know the message, I mean know the parameters of the form if applicable so you offer something to the poet that they may not know, hence shared learning. We also have some crit tips posted too, things like, title, imagery, rhythms, rhymes, poetic devices, shape, sense of order, all play into crits. Even if one doesn't know a particular form, they can still offer valuable input.

Poetry Boards as Workshops.
This board is NOT based on production, but refinement. We are here to workshop poetry. Vanity poets need to go elsewhere. Period.

The Insincere Reader.
See my previous reply. It doesn't benefit anyone if the reader/commenter isn't sincere. False praise only hurts the poet in the long run. I've heard of cases where someone posted a poem at another board, got lots of false praise, then posted the same here and we were honest about our impressions, which was sincere - the poem needed work. That person was not thrilled that they had received completely opposite remarks depending on the forum they posted in. That doesn't serve the ultimate goal - to enhance the message, furthering the appreciation of poetry.

Anti-intellectual Element.
I agree with you. Poetry must be a felt experience.

Interboard Understanding.
We invite the exchange of ideas. This board is for the members to enjoy, I am here to provide the vehicle.

Board Administrations.
See my previous reply. It is a necessary evil - we police the forum to ensure compliance to board rules. Our staff is not power-hungry, we don't think of ourselves as better than another, pretty much everything I do as admin is done AFTER collaborative exchanges with staff, and members too depending on the situation. No one individual runs the show. Yes, mods do have the power to move a post, and then the staff jointly and collectively determines what happens from there. It's based on the code of conduct.

You're welcome to post your work here as we do take poetry for real. Please keep in mind, we have all levels of poets here at MM. And please - read the forum particpation rules posted in each crit forum to aquaint yourself with them.

Regards,
Lori