PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

We have a custom, in western society, of disparaging our own work---in a misguided attempt to be humble, or a pretense to seem humble (both conditions being the exact opposite of true humility).  One of the great lessons that my parents, Lloyd and Betty, attempted, repeatedly, to impose upon me was that no one would every want to read anything that I had written.  They actively attempted to squelch my interest in poetry, which took hold of me in the autumn of my senior year in high school, because, to them, poetry was written by hippies, subversives, communists, and queers (their phrase, not mine; my parents affixed labels to everyone, even their closest friends).  The best way to throttle my interest was to discourage my hopes to participate in the composition of poetry.

   When I entered college, I brought with me a manuscript on which I had been working for almost a year, which ran to eight hundred lines.  One of the English professors befriended me, and I asked him to read this manuscript poem, to which he agreed.  I handed the manuscript over and, being very awkward, simply said, "It probably isn't any good."  He smiled, said OK, and handed it back.  I must have looked very confused, as he chuckled a little and said, "You don't need me to read it, because you have told me all I need to know.  If you, as the author, believe it is no good, why should I waste me time, which is at a premium, on it?"  He did read it, and, after a few days, returned it to me with the confirmation that I was right, it was no good, and in fact, it was a colossal bore.

   I read to many poets' comments, here on postpoems, in which they disparage their own work on their main page, or in the notes to the poems.  My reading time is at a premium also, and if a poet tells me that his or her work is no good, I am going to accept that as an expert interpretation.

    The poet is privileged to compose the work, but not to critique it.  The reader's privilege is to read the work and critique it.  I read a young poet's comments, today, that essentially said most of his poetry was not very good.   THEN WHY THE HELL TO YOU POST IT?