[Shaun J. Russell]

Originally Posted by annie nance

Great responses; thanks for sharing. I'm just always interested to know the process of other folks, I suppose. Michael, I'm glad to know there is at least one other out there with a collection of "finished but shitty". Even the garbage, I have a hard time trashing.

I've got my fair share of "finished but shitty" too (hell, I'm sure MOST folks here do). I just don't happen to separate them from the rest. I don't trash anything either -- I've still got a large collection of embarrassing juvenilia sitting on my hard drive, dating back to the mid '90s.

[Richard Epstein]

I was disappointed in the question. After seeing the title, I expected a really personal, nosy, prying sort of question --What is your favorite flavor of Jell-O? What's your preferred sexual position? Which direction do you hang the toilet paper roll? Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

RHE

[Roger Slater]

I have a personal question for Annie: Why could it possibly matter to you how many poems other poets work on at a time? Did you imagine that there's a "right" answer, that all good poets do in one particular way, and that you will write better poems yourself if you conform to the consensus?

[R. Nemo Hill]

Maybe she was just curious.
That doesn't always kill the cat, does it?

Nemo

[Roger Slater]

I don't much care for cats in any event, so it's okay with me.

I just meant to say that we all have heard enough about the work habits of various poets and artists to realize that there's not just one way to go about it. The key is to do it, and how to make that happen will vary from individual to individual.

[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by Roger Slater

I have a personal question for Annie: Why could it possibly matter to you how many poems other poets work on at a time? Did you imagine that there's a "right" answer, that all good poets do in one particular way, and that you will write better poems yourself if you conform to the consensus?

But Roger, people *do* actually think this way. There's an odd dichotomy, almost Aristotelian. Openly, they will assert that everyone's different, there's no one path to true art, but in actual practice, they're secret Sartreans, believing that in choosing their path they choose for everyone, and that since they've made a considered choice and found it good, we should all choose that way. If you doubt this, see a couple of the comments on my latest offering in the deep end. I think this is true in all the arts: a soprano believes other sopranos should sing the way she does. After all, it took years of difficult work to develop her technique, and during that time, she's discovered what works, not just for her, but (at least in her mind) for all.

My favorite quotation in this area comes from Alice: "Ever since I fell down the rabbit hole, people have been telling me what I must do and who I must be." For as long as I can remember, people ... good friends who sincerely wish me well ... have been telling me the *one* thing that I could change that would make me a good poet. The most memorable of these was a woman in California who adjudged I was aesthetically undisciplined, and decided I should join the U.S. Navy if I ever wanted to be a good poet! She thought learning to follow orders would be good for me.

That's an extreme example, but it's oddly representative. What strikes me is the gap between what people actually say, if asked, and what they actually do if observed. And as I said, these are all good people, charitable people who sincerely believe they're offering helpful, constructive guidance, who take the time to think deeply about problems and offer solutions. And since the phenomenon exists in most aesthetic fields, perhaps there's something deeply human about it?

Best,

Bill

[R. Nemo Hill]

I think the comparison to the critiques in your Deep End thread are misplaced here, Bill. Those were based on the result of said habits, not on the habits themselves. "By their fruits ye shall know them."

Nemo

[annie nance]

"I just meant to say that we all have heard enough about the work habits of various poets"

Maybe not ALL of us, Roger. I want to know how you do it. Because I am curious. Meow.



And by the way, Richard Epstein, what is that in your pocket, anyway?

[Jayne Osborn]

As an aside, what about the days - of which there have been far too many recently, for me, (though unavoidable) - when you're not working on ANY poems at all?

At the moment I wish I could say I was working on ONE poem, never mind three or four! Tempus fugit too damn fast.

Jayne

[Mike Lane]

annie,

I sometimes work on 5 at a time. Usually a combination of old and very new ones--as I am doing right now. Touching some up, to send out and working on some brand new ones. The new ones I'll send to some friends before I workshop them.

Mike