Michel, if you wandered into an advanced swimming class and couldn't swim from one side of the pool to the other, would you expect the class to stop and teach you face-float-and-kick? Or would you expect them to fish you out by the scruff of the neck, set you on the bank, and tell you you were in the wrong class? It's a matter of finding the level that is most helpful to you at your particular stage of learning. Perhaps you are confusing the concepts elite and advanced. There are many beginner and intermediate boards out there and plenty that don't set any standards at all--you just need to start where you are comfortable and work up.
Lo, as to your original question about critting the crits, in general it's a no-no. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with saying, "I disagree with So-And-So about line 13..." Just don't get personal. Address the poem, give your own opinion, tell why you disagree (or agree) with a particular point someone made, and don't be afraid of looking stupid. Especially if you feel strongly about the poem, and most especially if you disagree with all the responses the poem has received so far. It could be (and often is) the ovine thing working there. Besides, doesn't the poet deserve to know what a stupid person thinks? Or is he to be left with only the opinions of better-than-average and more vocal readers and critics who may be influenced by each other's better-than-average opinions? Collective response on a forum doesn't represent a fair cross-section of the opinion of individual readers. As a writer I want to reach the initiated, but I also want to know what the poem is going to deliver to the general readership looking at it for the first and last time in some magazine.
Carol
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