Eratosphere - Out of the pool!

Eratosphere (https://www.ablemuse.com/erato/index.php)

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- - Out of the pool! (https://www.ablemuse.com/erato/showthread.php?t=15019)

There's the story about a Jewish Robinson Crusoe, discovered after twenty years on a desert island. He had survived, caught fish, raised crops, built a shelter and, being a religious man, even constructed a small synagogue for himself.

Exploring the island, his rescuers came across a second synagogue, on a hilltop on the other side of the island. They asked him about it.

"That synagogue?", the man responded. "I wouldn't worship there if you paid me. Fecch!"

That's why we need two Boards. One for the cool kids, and one to avoid because too many of the people who post there are (a) beginners, or (b) back-scratchers, or (c) scorekeepers, or (d) pedantic, or (e) babbling, or (f) whatever it is that is pissing me off the most that month. And since the cool kids (as well as my definition of who's cool and who's not) drift around, I lurch after them.

In effect, I like having two Boards because they are somewhat different, even though the differences evolve and change continually - and at any given time I am either more comfortable on one or the other - and having the choice makes a big difference to me.

Ideally, I'd like to go back to the mind set that Alan enforced. If you posted on the Deep End it had dammed well better be good - and you had better be prepared to discuss and defend it - because the critiques would be demanding. The Deep End was not a sandbox (and neither was the Sphere.) We don't have that now to nearly the same extent. But I still honor the concept, and I tend to jump more aggressively when gush or twaddle is posted on the Deep End, and particularly when the poster then pontificates about "constructive criticism".

There is a problem, though, Michael, in that the criteria for "pretty damn good" generally reflects the clubby tastes of the Deep End membership. Narrow waters run deep, right? I've taken poems there and had them communally clobbered, ignored, not "got," and eventually published in fairly decent places. Not that publication is the imprimatur of quality...far from it. But the same poem taken to Metrical, I learned, gets a much fairer, if broader, reading and ultimately a good (not necessarily positive) critique--sometimes even from you, who are known to hit the Metrical board from time to time! In fact, there are a few people who work both boards, providing a consistent standard of quality in their critique. I have a problem with the view that The Deep End is where the high quality, super-advanced poetry is vetted by the greats. It simply doesn't work. That said, I'll repeat that I'm fine with having two bars in town, but my preference is for the big bar with the open windows.

I visit all three boards, with Met usually getting more of my traffic than the other two. I'm fine with the current board distinctions. My views are similar to those expressed by Rick.

I witness softball and hardball crits on all three boards. As a generalized and purely personal observation, it seems to me that crits on TDE are often less rigorous than many posted on Met. And I don't think it's as simple as a matter of lesser quality versus higher quality that has more people posting on Met rather than on TDE.

I would wager, Michael, that you would probably draw the same people and receive pretty much the same reviews of a poem whether you posted it on Met or TDE.

Richard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Mullin (Post 209686)

But the same poem taken to Metrical, I learned, gets a much fairer, if broader, reading and ultimately a good (not necessarily positive) critique--sometimes even from you, who are known to hit the Metrical board from time to time!

Actually, Rick (and Tim), I don't believe I've posted a poem for critique on the Deep End for several years. Roughly for the reasons Rick lists, plus some of the personal problems I listed in my earlier post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Cantor (Post 209694)

Actually, Rick (and Tim), I don't believe I've posted a poem for critique on the Deep End for several years.

Tim! Tim? Tim who? Is that Tim M you're referencing?

Personal problems are the elephant in the room.

Nemo