"We" may not thrive in isolation, but our art does. Why, of all the art forms, do poets horde together, seeking "input"? Mozart did not need Salieri's input. The whole point of making art is to make the choices yourself.
[Michael, your comment came in as I was writing this. You wrote: "Since each listener is somewhat idiosyncratic, a poet needs a range of reactions to sift the helpful comments from the unhelpful, which is what places like Eratosphere offer." True, but what a cacaphony, sometimes!]
Esther, you raise critical questions. Nit-picking is a wearisome activity and also something of a no-brainer. Especially when a poem has obvious depth (and yours does), let's bring some depth into our commentary. All aboard.
[This message has been edited by Kate Benedict (edited March 24, 2001).]
|