[Max Goodman]

Do you tend to like your own light verse better than that of others?

I do, and I don't think it's because I write (or--given my current output--wrote) it better than others do, but because, beyond the surface technical facility, the value of light verse (usually its humor) is, more than that of other poetry, a matter of taste. Since we tend (yes?) to write to our own taste, I assume most light versers similarly prefer their own.

[I should maybe clarify that I don't mean I would fill an anthology of light verse with my own stuff but that, for instance, in most issues of Light Quarterly I didn't find many poems I liked as well as my own contributions. The same is far from true regarding other sorts of poems.]

I'm prompted now to ask by Jayne's question in Drills and Amusements: Do you like Clerihews? For me, Clerihews, maybe because most of them require less technical facility than other light verse forms, exaggerate the effect. My own Clerihews tickle me, some greatly; those of others tend to bore me. There are exceptions, of course. Because I'd hate to be misunderstood, I'll repeat myself: this doesn't lead me to believe that I write better Clerihews than others do, only that mine are better tailored to my own taste in humor.

Do you other light versers similarly prefer your own poems?