Earlier today I read a post that was done by a friend, and I will say that it was a bit confusing to me at first, so I took the time to read it twice.  It was a post that basically criticised new poets I felt in a way.  They said that some advertise how fantastic they are, when in reality, they are not.  That their work may be shabby, below par, not within an actual “poets” standards.  They talked about how one needs to accept criticism and be able to criticise when they read something and feel they can offer advice on. This friend went on to explain that there is a forum where “good” poets converse.  The way it was said, was like, you can come watch, read, listen, cause we know more then you, but stay out.  That is how I took it the first time I read it, so I made myself go and read the article again. 

The forum part was saying too many are coming in there and asking for others to view their work, I myself have never done this, as I did not know was even possible.  I thought the forum at first was where one goes to ask questions, and others, more advanced could help.  I went into one once, just asking for advice on how to get more views, and was given some good advice, which was also mentioned in my friends article about linking to other sites, like StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, which I have done some of these, and hope to do more this week. Then once to ask if anyone knew why my counts seemed off.  So I went over to the forum after I read this article, I got onto one that was titled “The Triond Dilemma”.  It talked about the same procedure as if there are not enough “good” poets out there, who can give you actual criticism that may or may not help you to improve. I guess it just seemed like a let down while I was reading at first.

Then I came across one who actually spoke up the the little guys, it was, FJ McCarthy, he said that it was not fair to pick on the little guys.  I think you should really take the time to go and check the forum out and read for yourself.  I started to reply, and in the middle of my reply, I decided instead of sending this little note, to whomever might see it there, I would form a post myself here and let more of my friends read it, and pass it on if you so wish.

In some ways what they stated was true, as I do believe that one can be criticised and learn by it, as that it what helps you to understand what the readers feel, and what they want. But you can do so without being rude and abusive.  There are ways to criticise professionally.  After I read it, I had to laugh for a moment, as this friend made a comment on one of my posts,  and part of it was ” He felt the need to belch and assert his masculinity”.  So my question is, what sort of criticism would that be, a good one, that meant you go girl, or could of it meant something else?

I was looking online last night, and there are so many forms of Poetry, I even tried one, it was my “Night”, if you look, I used the first letter of word in each line to spell my title. It was just something to try, was not trying to win a global nomination for it, but it was fun to learn and to do.  My whole life I have thought of poetry as words that rhyme, I do not always go looking for them, they just seem to come to me.  I have learned the past couple of months since I have been on Triond and made some friends, by reading their work, there are other forms of poetry also, I have done one or two, and I liked how it came out.

At the same time though, each has their own way of saying or stating things, their own feelings, emotions, thoughts, I know I do, and so to them, I believe that it is their way of poetry, as if you accept that poetry can be freelance, then theirs so be.  It does not mean they are a so called “bad poet”, or that they do not deserve to be here on Triond, or to be sharing their works with others.  It means they feel at ease, coming here, maybe learning, opening up, sharing their thoughts on paper for the first time, just to know they can do it.  Maybe to one, that poem means nothing, but maybe to another, they can see through the lines and understand what the writer is saying, maybe it is just to know that someone cares enough to read it.

Yes, maybe there are some who are doing as they say, “You click for me, I click for you”, if that is what two or more choose to do, who are we to say anything, as if you do not like their work, then, as I read someone reply on their comment, do not read it. You can give a comment that suggests maybe how to help, heck I had one who told me she reads all to just find any spelling errors, and found one in mine that spellchecker missed. Maybe send your suggestions via message instead of a comment. To have a nice comment is good and all, but do not sit and judge them that they are a terrible writer, for maybe they are learning, maybe they need a hand put upon their shoulder for them to learn from.

So, this post is for all the the beginners, for us not to give up our hopes and dreams to write, for what we put down might be poetry to us, but also to the ones who have been writing for a long time, then I ask of you, to not treat the beginners so badly, they are trying to learn also.  Some may be in it for money, in long run everyone gets a penny here or there, but I could really care less, I love writing, and sharing, and learning more about poetry and writing.  But, and I think I speak for many beginners, do not ban me for I am learning, do not push me to the back of the line for you are taller then me, but instead be my mentor, be my teacher, share your knowledge with me, for if I am truly interested in writing, I will listen, I will learn.

{ This is in no way a post to put down what my friend posted, he has his own opinions, and he had some good points, but this is a post to let everyone know, we may or may not be a “good” poet, but we are trying, we are writing, we are expressing our feelings and our thoughts, we are learning…}

This title came up in my mind as when I did the forum reply I asked them not to throw us beginners to the wolves, and my friend gave a reply, “We would not throw you to the wolves, we are the wolves”.  I thought that was cute, and how I came up with my title.

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