Poetry, being an art form, is naturally open for critique. I did not argue with the views he expressed simply the manenr in which he was expressing them. I disagree, I think poetry can and should be critiqued. Not attacked, but without picking apart your own poems or having others do so how will you ever grow as a poet? He posted his poem and I posted my response. I think critiquing is vital if we are to keep poetry alive. I do not subscribe to teh train of thought that suggests that because it is expression it should not be examined. I think expression, if anyhting, should be examined even closer so we can begin to explain ourselves better. Is there such thing as a bad poem? yes there most definately is. One that fails to express any emotion of any kind. Now it's fine if you keep said poems to yourself but when posting on a forum obviously you want someone to read and why would you want them to read if not so they can see a bit through your eyes? And wouldn't you like to know if the vision you granted them was good or not? I think the real art in poetry is knowing how to take a critique. It is not rude at all, it is actually a friendly gesture of trying to help a fellow artist in a similar field grow by giving your thoughts on his work.
It just occurred to me why this poem has caused quite a stir... anytime anyone makes a statement... followed by an attack... then it is not discourse. Instead of indicating WHY "there's nothing wrong with Capitalism" the author chose to attack those who don't believe in it. It's like saying "your momma is so fat" but instead of saying "she's so fat she....." and giving examples, they said "and anyone who doesn't agree with me is an asshole". Okay, the author has chosen this path. If that was the goal well fine. The author attacked his readers, this was aimed directly at anyone who didn't agree with him. :sabres:
I'm sorry, how is this not rude? Critique is something completely different than what's going on here. These lines I've pointed out ARE rude.
That is how I critique. I'm sorry if I hurt anyones fragile sense of self but well, when you post your shit on a forum, you take that risk. Those lines ARE critiquing. They ARE giving pointers on how to better the poem. I will not soften critiques to make people feel better. If your or anyone else on here ever gets published they will have to take some pretty hard blows to their poetry/writing. How are they not critiquing? Just because they are harsh does not mean htey have no value. You also took several things, like the line about the half assedness of it, completely out of context. Right before I said that i stated that this could be a great and fabulous poem and that the person does have some potential, he's just not utilitizing it. In short, deal. That's how I crit. I would hope to get equally harsh crits from you or anyone else.