Donner
12-11-2001, 02:06 AM
**Howard Miller posted this in response to a writer's questions in General C&C and I thought it was valuable enough advice to post in 'Voyages'. (Portions have been edited.) Posted with Howard's permission:
Does it have to rhyme perfectly? I'm trying not to get into that so highly criticised trap of "forced rhyming," and I don't think the rhyming of these two is particularly off....
I'm not too worried about conforming to "contemporary theory" to be honest.
Surely there is some place for abstraction...?"
Well, mayn't I write for myself and then post it up here for some friendly, constructive criticism - which I'm sure would be helpful to my enjoyment of the poem as well as yours?
* * * * * * * * *
All of these things depend upon exactly for whom you are writing.
If you are writing entirely for yourself, or for family/friends who are likely to respond positively because you wrote it and aren't likely to be critical, then none of these things matter, and you can do whatever makes you happy. If this is the case, of course, posting to a poetry board serves no useful purpose.
If you are writing for an audience of Crowley [subject of the poem] specialists who know or care little about poetry, then all that matters is that the content be accurate. Again, in this case, posting to a poetry board is of no value; such work should be posted to a Crowley/occult board.
If, however, you are writing to be read, understood, and appreciated by a reader who is interested in and knowledgeable of poetry--precisely the situation upon which PFFA and especially the critical forums ("Gen C&C," "High," "Merciless," and "Charon's Schooner") are predicated--then your work is going to have to attain to a considerably higher reader-centered standard. Technical elements such as meter and rhyme are expected to aspire to standard current practice; langauge is expected to evoke clear images and experiences in the reader's imagination and to satisfy standards of current use in terms of diction, grammar, and syntax, not the usage of readers several centuries dead. Work is certainly not expected to be perfect, but it is expected that the writer is seriously interested in improving the quality of his work through revisions based on the comments received which he has found particularly valuable and useful. It is only for that purpose that readers take the time to read, consider, and comment on his work.
Whether PFFA has anything to offer you is up to you, since only you know precisely what your motives and purposes are.
Howard
Does it have to rhyme perfectly? I'm trying not to get into that so highly criticised trap of "forced rhyming," and I don't think the rhyming of these two is particularly off....
I'm not too worried about conforming to "contemporary theory" to be honest.
Surely there is some place for abstraction...?"
Well, mayn't I write for myself and then post it up here for some friendly, constructive criticism - which I'm sure would be helpful to my enjoyment of the poem as well as yours?
* * * * * * * * *
All of these things depend upon exactly for whom you are writing.
If you are writing entirely for yourself, or for family/friends who are likely to respond positively because you wrote it and aren't likely to be critical, then none of these things matter, and you can do whatever makes you happy. If this is the case, of course, posting to a poetry board serves no useful purpose.
If you are writing for an audience of Crowley [subject of the poem] specialists who know or care little about poetry, then all that matters is that the content be accurate. Again, in this case, posting to a poetry board is of no value; such work should be posted to a Crowley/occult board.
If, however, you are writing to be read, understood, and appreciated by a reader who is interested in and knowledgeable of poetry--precisely the situation upon which PFFA and especially the critical forums ("Gen C&C," "High," "Merciless," and "Charon's Schooner") are predicated--then your work is going to have to attain to a considerably higher reader-centered standard. Technical elements such as meter and rhyme are expected to aspire to standard current practice; langauge is expected to evoke clear images and experiences in the reader's imagination and to satisfy standards of current use in terms of diction, grammar, and syntax, not the usage of readers several centuries dead. Work is certainly not expected to be perfect, but it is expected that the writer is seriously interested in improving the quality of his work through revisions based on the comments received which he has found particularly valuable and useful. It is only for that purpose that readers take the time to read, consider, and comment on his work.
Whether PFFA has anything to offer you is up to you, since only you know precisely what your motives and purposes are.
Howard