Getting back in gear

I started this blog back in November 2006, with the intention of using it as a place to review randomly selected internet-published poetry, figuring that grappling critically with other people’s work would be one of the best ways to define weaknesses and build on strengths in my own. 
That was before I fully realized how, um, bad the standing of negative critique [...]

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Critical Slough of Despond

Still in a very plastic hot-wax indeterminate sort of state about critiquing others’ poetry. Where I used somehow to be able to just march in briskly say oh, yes, this and oh, yes, that, I now don’t seem to be able to determine what this or that or anything else is any more.
Once a writer [...]

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More on, yes, criticism!

Negative criticism remains in bad standing. pshares blog reacts to Tony Williams’ answer to no. 4 of the ten questions. Check out the comments too. Most interesting but least surprising line: when you’re a poet as well as a critic, you run a certain risk by publishing a negative review.
As we said.
The discussion reminds that [...]

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If you’re publishing your work you’re inviting criticism.

Dumbfoundry highlights an answer from Tony Williams to question no. 4 of the ten questions series running over at my other blog, Very Like A Whale. (I know – how bizarre is linking to a link on someone else’s blog to a post on your own blog?) Just to highlight Tony’s answer some more – [...]

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Criticism of criticism

A long long thread in the Gazebo archives called Criticism of criticism. Lots of things I’d love to excerpt and highlight, but it’s late. Check it out.

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critiquing and reviewing

Quick! What’s the difference? No-one need pretend they know.
Some answers at this discussion.
How’s this for a blood-curdling quote?
“.. with a review, you are taking your life in your hands by criticising what a poet has published as a finished product. Many poets have huge egos and will hold a bad review against you for the [...]

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This blog’s name

A critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste. – Whitney Balliet

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Why am I doing this?

To learn. There is something parasitic about it – leeching onto and off the work of others in order to organize and feed my grasp on my own – but I’ll try not to let that bother me.

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