Maybe the place to start when talking about poetry forums is what is and isn’t working.
So, do you workshop your poetry? Where do you go? Where don’t you go? Why? Why? Why?
If anyone doesn’t want to go public with their places and reasons, send me an email. I’m very interested.
Talking about poetry boards makes me wonder what really would make a good one, if started today from scratch. For example, I prefer PFFA’s software to any other. I prefer Gaz’s former single forum for all poetry setup. I like a mix of newcomers and oldtimers, form and free. As few rules as possible. Many styles welcome. Discussion encouraged. Arguments allowed.
The closest thing to this currently is the Gaz. But there have been a lot of poets who have fled the Gaz over the years because of various political power plays and general goofiness. Other forums, though, simply don’t get the traffic, other than PFFA and Erato–and both of those forums have been damaged, perhaps irrevocably, by high-profile abuses of power.
In a previous comment, I mentioned to Howard that perhaps the status of the online poetry forum has reached its maturity. Perhaps it was a boom time and now things can settle into a slower period. Or perhaps it was a fad, and now things will simply die.
If all of the best and brightest from every board got together, I bet that something amazing could come of it. It might be nuclear war rather than a great poetry board, but it would still be amazing.
Yeah, I know. I’m all about the popcorn lately.
But this stuff is like crunchy heaven. It’s like butter rum lifesavers melted over popcorn.
Trust me.
Without looking, I’ll make a guess–it’s filled with people writing strictly rhymed and metered doggerel.
The older I get, the more I dislike “light” poetry. If it doesn’t have some heft to it, I don’t want to bother. Bah.
In general, I’m disappointed about the split. I haven’t looked around to see if I would still be allowed to post my stuff on the main board. One of the things I really don’t like about Erato is the exclusivity and narrow-mindedness. I’d hate to see a better board follow that same path.
Still a little sick, but I’m feeling the love since Steve gave me a belated Valentine’s Day present.
Heated computer gloves!
Hot diggity, I’m in love. With him and with these gloves. I’m toasty!
… since I just made Steve go get me cheese corn.
Or maybe I should assume it’s really bad if I’m craving cheese corn. Go out with a bang?
In any case, I feel better. Thanks to all for the good wishes. Something worked.
Now my keyboard has orange fingerprints all over it.
Send healing thoughts. And a blankie. *sob*
A coworker lost his father over the weekend, and last night was visiting hours at the funeral home. His father had been sick for years, so while there was no jubilation at his death, there was some relief.
The coworker and I had often discussed whose situation was better–his or mine. His father was ill, with a long, slow decline. Mine visited me in the morning and in the afternoon he was dead. I didn’t watch my father suffer, but I also didn’t get to say goodbye.
What a trade-off.
It’s hard to convince myself that I’m lucky, but I think I really was. Still miss my daddy, though. Religious belief would be comforting, but I tried for over 25 years to believe and it never really worked.
Another trade-off.
I have Girl Scout cookies, Samoas, on my desk. I don’t think there’s really a downside to that.
Back at the doctor’s for an ultrasound. They made me drink great quantities of liquid, then smooshed my bladder until I begged for mercy.
It would be a good interrogation technique for “24.”
“Tell me where he is, Dad, or I will squish your gizzard!”
Jack would do it, too. You know he would.
A friend of mine is being threatened with a lawsuit for what looks like the dumbest reason in history. But she’s afraid, and I’m not a lawyer. I know a few of you reading are, so if anyone would be willing to look at an email and give a very general impression, I’d be grateful.