Editorial Policy

[Nicholas]

Our recent discussion about editing and publishing makes me think we could run this site better.  My objective here is a social site where friends share their poetry and help each other to write outstanding works - a selection of which are then featured on an edited edition of NewZealandPoetry.org.  For this, we do need to criticise successfully.

 

Editorial Policy

1) Members have the right to free speech (certain limits apply).

2) Criticism is directed at the work.

3) Do not be afraid to indicate your perceived problems in a poem.  The discussion may be useful.

4) Listen carefully but do not be afraid to reject criticism.  Never feel you need to explain  your work. 

5) If someone makes a criticism that really upsets you, it may be better to not immediately react to them, you can send me a message asking it be removed, and I will simply consider removing it.  So far I have never seen a comment that I thought was harmful here, but if one appears, I maintain the right to remove it.  Attacks of a personal nature may result in suspension of a member whilst the matter is resolved. 

6) A critical assessment or detailed assignments are not required.  Usually it is enough to question just one thing and the poet will relook at the work.  Remember, the poet is the sole author of the work, the critic is just one of many sets of eyes.

7) Most of us get the balance right, and it is helpful to point out what worked or what you really like!  An honest emotional response is valued!

8) A lack of comments is usually the loudest criticism, so even a severe taking apart means someone cares.

9) If you edit, keep your own copy of your original!  You can update the one on the site to show the edits you make (use strikeout and italics for new text.  Publish a new clean edition of the poem under the same title.

10) When someone posts a quick run of poems within a few minutes, creating a block of their works on this site the Editors may change the publication dates of your poems so they mix in better and the site achieves its objective of promoting all fairly.  See also Personal Sites page.

Summary

I want you all to feel you can benefit from each other, I want this site to do good things for New Zealand Poetry.  I certainly want close objective criticism of works I put here as well as the occasional pat on the back when it just works.  If you love a work - say so.  Be passionate about your art.  Faint praise and overly heavy criticism probably are equally useless. Honest reactions and clever suggestions can be really useful to a poet.

[hamish withers]

I find comments or feedback from others about my poems subjects, word choice, or line lengths, or recommendations about poets, films, or music that relate to what I have done or might inspire me useful.

[Rod Wintour]

I belong to Toastmasters and we have a system of evaluation -commendations and recommendations or CRC method in relation to our speeches which is very good and works well. 

But one thing I've observed in relation to negative comments which I find interesting is the misinterpretation that a person making the comment often has on the writer and the writers intentions.

With Toastmasters there is a list of objectives and goals with each project which evaluators go by. On a site like this you don't know academically what level the person is or what experiences the person has had or what the writers intentions are.

However an example is my Poem Don't tell Mr Green. The clue to understanding this poem is in the title ,Mr green (or Greeny.) The night I wrote this I was in a mischievous mood and out of a sense of humour began to write a beautiful poem about this beautiful tree only right at the end pull the rug out from the reader and cut it down. The writers of the two comments I received appeared not to pick up on the title clue which would have given the poem away as a naughty attempt at humour. However for evaluation purposes it would be great to have a blog prevision so that if a writer wishes to do so , could publish a bit of a write up about the poem just written and maybe add a few details for evaluation purposes.

[Nicholas]

Clarity is in the hands of the author.  There is no reason that footnotes should not follow a poem if the author wants to provide explanation, but I would discourage it.  Some poems may mean different things to different readers and different things on different days.

[Rod Wintour]

Thankyou Nicholas,

Good comment