Comments on: That Every Day Poets Interview

By: admin

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:44:23 +0000

Thanks, Barry. And I’m really looking forward to reading “The Terror …”

By: Barry Napier

Barry Napier — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:41:39 +0000

Nice to have your company in the TOC. And great interview.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Thank you, Oonagh and Jim, for the kind comments. I should really add that the definition of poetry that I gave was a paraphrase of something that my fellow SlingInker/Cafe Doomer/TWIer Cathy Edmunds (see –>) has said on more than one occasion, and she knows a hell of a lot more about poetry than I do. But it’s certainly something that I believe in as well and try to put into practice as much as I can.

By: Jim Murdoch

Jim Murdoch — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:56:20 +0000

It wasn’t a bad interview. Not by a long chalk. And your definition of poetry, whether this is what you intended as one or not, i.e. an assembly of “some words that seem to work well together” is probably the way most people these days view poetry. If that seems shallow then live with it; it’s better than coming across as highbrow and inaccessible.

I also like how you define a good poem as one “where every word is earning its keep”, to quote you in part, and, again, that’s plain speaking, something that makes sense and I do wish a lot of younger poets would take that to heart and stop rambling on and on and cut to the chase. That’s why ‘Professionalism’ works – literally! – there’s a cut and then a chase (okay a dash, but you get my point).

I recently submitted a poem to the Goodreads monthly competition and, because of the nature of the beast, you get to see the other submissions. The length of some of them! Are there was my wee poem with its 23 words but 23 words that were working their butts off.

By: Oonah V Joslin

Oonah V Joslin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:45:50 +0000

Shallow? far from it. I found your answers most interesting. It’s far from easy to talk about yourself and your writing, I know. But it takes courage to be here doing that and everyone appreciates it when a writer makes that effort.