Jay Parini speaking of Thom Gunn in the Massachusetts Review - "Any poet worth thinking twice about possesses at least an energetic mind; but it is the harnessing of this energy which makes for excellence. In Gunn's work an apparently unlimited energy of vision finds, variously, the natural boundaries which make expression—and clarity—possible."
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(see also http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-Arts-and-Crafts)

(rev #10 - 07.23.09)

I believe a greater opportunit ... more »

Jay Parini speaking of Thom Gunn in the Massachusetts Review - "Any poet worth thinking twice about possesses at least an energetic mind; but it is the harnessing of this energy which makes for excellence. In Gunn's work an apparently unlimited energy of vision finds, variously, the natural boundaries which make expression—and clarity—possible."
___________________

(see also http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-Arts-and-Crafts)

(rev #10 - 07.23.09)

I believe a greater opportunity than publication exists for most webooking poets. There is a need to exchange poetic knowledge to improve the overall understanding of poetics and, hopefully as a result of this exercise, the poetry and dialogue about poetry within a small, but motivated coterie.

This is a reverse or converse project. The first poetry project of its kind. _Simply Poetry 5 - Converse_ is structured to nullify the generalized and predominant "that's nice, whoa, wow" comment which is used for all artistic websites. An anecdotal view of mine is that many poets may have been writing poetry since childhood, yet continue to write with a limited understanding of poetics. Also, many of these longtime writers read very little published poetry.

Participating in this study and practice of poetics, as structured here, can only produce a rather pedestrian and non-glamorous exchange.  For example, just after a fresh wash and wax, someone might comment on my beautiful car by telling me how proud I should be of such a nice automobile. On the other hand, should I take a greasy wheel bearing from this same car to a mechanic, I would expect an evaluation of the bearing. Not a compliment. Nor an opinion about the pleasant or unpleasant odor of the grease and cleaning solvents. The effect of participating in this project - upon the motivated but less knowledgeable poet - should be of some consequence.

Briefly, a few things about me. I am very much an amateur poet myself. I did not begin writing poetry until several years ago. I have a working understanding of many 'poetry only' websites. I've been a webooking poet since August '08. I was fortunate in benefiting from an early, virtual friendship with a former webooking poet and authority on prosody who was pennamed ~OMGfilangi.

I have seen three, and participated in two WEbook voting cycles. I had five poems published by Level4Press. This publisher was permitted to solicit poems from webooking poets in the fall of '08. The owner/editor of Level4Press expected me to understand his suggestions for poetical revisions and to make them accordingly. Currently, poetry projects for publication are being limited and managed by WEbook in a special, extended Summer '09 Vote Cycle.

Writing a successful poem, a poem that works, is not a guessing game on the part of the reader. The root word poem means - 'I create' or 'to create'. A poem is a machine designed for a human response. And, a machine has many various parts.

Although multiple layers of meaning may surely be suggested, a poem is an intentional communication from the author. There must exist some concept as to what the poem is intended to convey. And, the reader need find consonance and value, not dissonance, in the presentation of that intention.

If you desire one day to be published, what expertise are you going to bring to a publisher? It is unlikely that you are going to create a cure for cancer nor a memorable poem by accident. Do legitimate poetry publishers have no expertise themselves?

A paid review for commercial marketing is certainly not a fair evaluation of a piece of literature. In this sense a review is not a critique. Literary criticism is the art and skill of asking and answering certain questions about a piece of literature. A literary critic (Gk. kritikos) is one who is able to discuss and provide a critique (Fr.), or an estimate of literature. Criticize is more commonly understood as to find fault.

Criticism is the noun for fault finding, but carries the primary meaning associated with the art of determining, with knowledge and fairness, the beauty and faults of literature. In this sense literary criticism is a review. Constructive criticism is not an oxymoron, but, to a more correct understanding, it is unnecessarily redundant. In short, a legitimate critique is not confined to opinionated fault finding in a poem.

I well understand the tendency to think, "I can't offer any critique, I just know what I like and don't like." If that is fully correct, then you can only write a biased commercial review to promote or advise against a piece of poetry. However, this is the place to learn how to gently critique yourself and others by not being an expert, but choosing a small defined part of poetics and practicing literary criticism.

The simple act of volunteering to become a Web 2.0 interactive *vendor*, setting up a storefront, choosing, and defining a small area of poetics - will place you at an advantage over others who have not engaged in this DIY (do-it-yourself) exercise. In summary, the idea is not to come to a mountain, but individually to furnish small authentic rocks that - corporately - will provide a mountain of free advice.

Advice provided almost entirely by amateur poets who are learning the skill and art of poetic criticism. If someone defines and then advises on spondees (a metrical unit with stressed-stressed syllables), would not that person be better able to artfully incorporate them into their poetry?

_Simply Poetry 5 - Converse_ has been conceived as a two-sided coin, a place to both learn and practice understanding why a certain part of poetry is good and what is wrong with a certain aspect, or part of a poem. Available *vendor* services will be directly proportional to the volunteerism and involvement of you - the webooking poet. To my knowledge, recognized poets have been recognized writers of outstanding papers on poetic criticism. A famous paper _The Vers Libre of Ezra Pound_, by T. S. Eliot, on the masterful poetic craft possessed by the so-called 'father of vers libre' comes to mind.

I expect, in the beginning, many more interested *customers* than *vendors* of critique. I also anticipate once the logical conclusion occurs to writers of poetry - that there is at least some small area of poetics they can comment on - the imbalance will improve.

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This project has no limit or intended end. There will be no WEbook vote on this project. *Vendors* and *customers* can set-up shop and use this permanent project or *collection of storefronts* without interruption for as long as they like. *Vendors* can shut-down and remove their *storefront* any time they like. New *vendors* can compete for the same *customers* in identical areas of critique.

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Please read all of the overview criteria below which explains the structure of this project. Enter any questions in the front page comment boxes located immediately below this overview and I will answer them as best I can. Or simply message me. Thank you so much.

*Please do not 'submit' poems. Choose a *vendor*. *Customer* poems or questions - complete or partial poems - are to be entered in comment boxes below the *vendor's* defined area of critique.

1.) The project submission or *storefront* will be owned by a *vendor* of critique who solicits poems by using first: (a) their all important title that will be used by *customers* to identify their service or specific area of critique; then (b) gives one or more examples, and (c) defines the examples and poems for their commentary. 

**I recommend limiting the area or scope of the offered critique, so that you can comment on everyone that seeks your help. There is no limit on the total number of storefronts/submissions - limited areas of critique soliciting poems and questions - a owner/reviewer can open.

Such as:

Please see first posting of this project - A Partial List: Basic Terminology for Evaluating Poetry

For example:

all feminine [no masculine] end rhymed couplets; eye rhymes and near rhymes; Flarf; Conceptual; Concrete; Confessional school; Traditional; Lyrical; Modernist; haiku; dark; assonance; consonance; enjambment; abstract; surreal; iambic; meter in general; irregular meter; mid-verse and end verse rhyme patterns ... the possibilities contain endless specific sub-divisions and general headings.

2.) The only thing that can be changed or deleted is the participant's 'classified ad' style submission that defines the  *customer* poems they are offering to comment on.

3.) The interested webooking *customer* will respond with partial or full poems placed in the comment box. Which means - no changes or retractions. So be sure you have the piece of poetry entered as correctly as you know how. Also, any specific wording or areas in your poem would be useful to mention. As in --certain areas of your poem that you are not sure about-- that apply to the *vendors* advertised area of commentary. The idea is not to test the commenter, but to use the opportunity for interaction.

T. S. Eliot said there is no such thing as a long poem. Unduly long poems (longer than 30 lines is my guess?) will be a strain on those kind people who commit to commentary.

4.) The *vendor* will reply and interact with the authors of the poems in the comment boxes below their submission/solicitation.

*** Reading any and all of the submissions for solicitation and comments to *customers* below that *vendor's* submission will be of much value. However, because this is an entirely new and untried structure, the benefit of outside commentary --not between the *vendor* and the authoring *customer*-- is yet to be seen. Certain aspects of a proprietary nature should be considered. Would a competing vendor be welcome inside an owner's store?

I can foresee where a interested webooker might request to *partner* with a specific *storefront* and *vendor* of critique. Or, simply set-up their own new *storefront* and become a *vendor* themselves.

Thank you for reading and considering this project for your use and benefit.


My best regards,

~gonzodave


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It's perhaps safe to say, the old Pied Piper tune of group poetry projects for publishing, as tweeted by WEbook in the past, is no longer a working model.  More importantly, the webooking poet has a platform here at WEBook to collaborate, make friends, and stretch their poetry writing and reviewing skills. 
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This _Simply Poetry Series of Seven Sister Projects_ can provide a defined place to do just that -- 3 Poetry Skill Level projects (SP VII-IX); 1 review practice project (SP V); 1 poetry article reading project (SP VI); and 1 project for Simply Poetry IX - Skill Level 3 participants to write their topical essays about how their poetry studies benefit them (SP X).
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What is the difference between a beginner and a studied poet?  A brief analogy:  Beginners are using naturally available resources for constructing their poetry - sticks and straw.  The practicing poet is learning to recognize the need to turn the straw into bricks; use the sticks to fire and harden the bricks; and to collect and crush stone for mortar.  The studied poet is creating designs for using these bricks and mortar to construct their poetry. 

A studied poet will be able to grasp and appreciate most literary papers on the subject of poetry.  A studied poet can pursue the study of poetry on their own.  The Studied Poet is able to read a map and road signs to chart their own course in the world of poetry.  That is the goal of this _Simply Poetry Series of Seven_.

Simply Poetry VII - Poet Skill Level 1 of 3 - Practicing:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-VII-Poet-Skill-Level-1-of-3-Beginner
Simply Poetry IX - Poet Skill Level 3 of 3 - Studied:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-IX-Poet-Skill-Level-3-of-3-Studied
Simply Poetry X - Essays on Poetry by Studied Poets:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-X-Essays
Simply Poetry XI - Tips, Tricks , and Thoughts About Poetry:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-XI-Tips-and-Tricks

As in any discipline there is theory and praxis.  Simply put, how aware you are of poetry and literature in general is a fair gauge of your skill level - not your level of natural talent.  I expect a degree of 'vetting' or evaluation by reviewers participating in this _Simply Poetry Series of Seven_  will help you determine which level you should be submitting to.  However, there is surely a degree of overlap from one level to the next. 

Submit to whatever level you are comfortable and use the resources to grow your skills into the next level.  If you use and absorb all the resources that I've offered in this _Simply Poetry Series of Six Sister Projects_ you will be a Studied Poet (autodidact - self taught).  The final level will be an invitation from me, to submit your essays to Simply Poetry X.  There, you can use your knowledge to write essays on the why and how your choice of studied influences benefit your poetry, so that other poets may in turn - learn from you.  In the final project, the open community _Simply Poetry XI - Tips, Tricks, and Thoughts About Poetry, is where all webookers can voice their knowledge and opinions about poetry.
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I have constructed two training projects for the interested poet.  Simply Poetry V - Converse is a project where one can learn the art of basic poetry critique (evaluation not subjective critical opinion) and thereby the need for skill with the bricks and mortar of poetry.  Simply Poetry VI - Arts and Crafts is a multifaceted and highly varied introduction into the craft and artistic literary aspects of poetry.  I'm not smart enough or predisposed to create one from a general point of view.  Do you need to be an 'English Major' like those on the PBS weekly _Prairie Home Companion_?  No, but it can't hurt - can it?

Simply Poetry VI Arts and Crafts:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-Arts-and-Crafts
Simply Poetry V - Converse:  http://www.webook.com/project/Simply-Poetry-V-Converse 



My kind regards,

~gonzodave  Less