This is something I wrote a long time ago about happenings on another site. I have recently been reminded of it so I figured I would post it here.
Image Credit Pixabay
Humble Pie
Sorry, guy
I don’t reply
But I write a lot to make up for it
See, the world must see
My poetry
I saw yours but didn’t have time to explore it
But if you’d be so kind
To take a look at mine
I’m sure that you’ll adore it
I’m asking you to look at me
Because I’m the greatest poet you’ll ever see
And if you don’t, you’ll be sorry for it
Here it is, your final chance
Go ahead take one last glance
Tell me how great you think I am
But for God's sake don’t Ignore it
I think it’s easy for writers to get a bit wrapped up in themselves. I mean, we are creatives afterall and when you create something that you feel is good enough to share the world, you kind of have an inclination to sit back and await the praise you feel you deserve. So it’s understandable that we find it difficult shift gears to invest time and energy into someone else’s work after we’ve finished one of our own. However, I look at from a different perspective; Our thoughts on other people’s works are also creations. Commenting can be just as much of an art form as poetry is and you are almost guaranteed to have at least one reader. Today, I received a reply from a comment I left 6 months ago, and the cool part is that I remember the poem. If that isn’t art, I don’t know what is.
I have recently opened up a new server on discord that is dedicated specifically to poets with an aim towards post promotion. At a time when others are shying away from it, I would like to embrace it. There is a catch...well, I like to call it an opportunity. For every link that you drop, you have to upvote and comment on two other posts in the same category. This allows poets to support other poets and increases the chances that you will receive meaningful feedback on your creations. You will also probably meet some new friends along the way.
So click the link and come meet up with other Block Chain Poets. We’ll be waiting, humbly.
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Join the new Discord channel dedicated specifically to poetry
Block Chain Poets
Where poets support other poets on the BlockChain.
This is a very fitting poem from the author of "How to comment on poetry," and I think you definitely should've shared a link to that post here.
I can tell you that when I keep sharing my poems with people it's not just because I long to be adored and told how great of a poet I am (and it still feels quite unreal to receive the praise I do here), but because seven-plus years of The Silence as my sole companion for prose and poetry left a mark. It's more that my poetry is all deeply personal - I don't do contests if you might have noticed, so it is the need to share myself, and to be affirmed - not as a creative, but as a person who feels and dreams.
But yes, this is so common of a thing, the "Look at me! Only me!"
Moving onward, I do agree that the art of giving critique is very much a maligned and ignored one, just look at the quote, "Those who can't do, criticize," while many who can create cannot criticize, and criticizing well is an art in and of itself.
I pride myself on my comments, you know? I take a long while to get to pieces, but it's because my daily time and energy, both creative and general, are quite limited. And I can only provide meaningful critique or feedback to so many pieces a day. And, I'd rather say nothing at all than give meaningless feedback.
@originalworks
This is a great idea. I know I can be guilty of this simply because I don't always have a chance to go all the way through my feed so then, when I get a chance, I go through the posts one person at a time to catch up. Honestly, I would prefer feedback over an upvote.
I am the same way. Before steemit came along, we would basically post for feedback. I mean it's good to earn money, but I like the idea of resonating with people. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
No problem @moeknows. Tomorrow when I'm on my computer, I'll hop on discord and connect to your channel.
Cool. I'll see you there!
Great poem and meaning. It suits Steemit well.
I know when I started that I often worried more about what I was going to write then who was going to read it. It is just like love. You need to show love in order to receive it....
Darryl (@dadview) resides in Canada. He is an active member of The Alliance and teamcanada
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“Our thoughts on other people’s works are also creations. Commenting can be just as much of an art form as poetry is...”
I loved reading all of this, but his sentence in particular was a breath of fresh air. I feel out of place in a lot of ways, because my favorite reading to relax with on a Sunday morning is a literary review mag. I love a Literary Critic who makes the effort to turn their review into something that can stand up on its own, equally, next to the work it’s reviewing.
This is also probably why being such a big Lionel Trilling fan is a lonely, lonely existence.
I remember telling someone that the second worst thing you can do to any work of work is to sing reply "fine" or "okay". The only worst thing being silence. For any creator, bad feedback is often better than no feedback.
But as you illustrated, even creators can become too self conscious and forget to seek out other forms, other writers, other ideas.
Sometimes, other people's poetry can just become boring or seemingly uninteresting or without depth. But most times, it's because we are unwilling to leave our palace
Personally, all of my poems have followed one structure. Seeing how you go out of your way to incorporate other forms inspires me. Maybe one day, I'll break up with laziness and follow your steps