Quote:
Originally Posted by Maryann Corbett
he had declined to revise poems that were more than three or four years old. He claimed that after that length of time the poet has probably lost touch with the original impulse of the poem.
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I'm the wrong person to answer this question. I lose touch with mine after three or four hours. After that, it feels like someone else wrote it. But this may be why I don't get upset by workshop suggestions: the poem isn't mine any more.
But I think it's wrong to make value statements or draw inferences about reality. It's got nothing to do with poetry, and far more to do with character. I'll weed 90 percent of the garden, but leave a patch where bugs and milkweed can thrive. I don't sand between coats of varnish when I'm putting a finish on a piece of furniture. I'm just impatient to get it out of the shop so I can make the next thing.
Others judge me harshly for this, and say I have no appreciation of craft. Perhaps they're right. And I respect the people who can create a beautiful mirror smooth french polish finish on a walnut table top. They enjoy the process, and they enjoy the result. More power to them. It's only a problem when they say everyone should believe as they do, or when they draw inferences about general reality and assume their skill enables them to make value statements. I wouldn't suggest my practice to anyone else. It's odd that people so often suggest their practices to me...
So if you enjoy that side of the process, I find a certain beauty in that enjoyment. It's something I admire, even if I can't do it well myself...
Thanks,
Bill