Phidias

[RiverNotch]

My tastes often change --- when I write something, half of them I like, half of them I don't, and usually that's more because of what I've lately read, and what values are most stuck to me at the moment. Eventually -- usually a matter of, say, four, five months -- most of what I like, I've forgotten (and thus, to me, ain't really worth it), while a few manage to stick, and those are the ones I think are actually, actually good. Responses usually act as catalysts -- they respond, my ego immediately reacts, then a period of silence on my part -- then I return, much earlier perhaps than I would have without posting, and if I still think it's good I either continue working on it, or I continue defending it, but if I think it's nothing, then I'm gone.

As for others' poems, essentially the same thing, although the time for sticking is usually shorter, and what does stick isn't necessarily what I remember. But still, a quick reread, and usually if the moment of brilliance I got on first reading returns to me, then I think it's a good one.

And as for what makes a good poem, I can't really say -- I mean, with enough study, I probably can, but that'd be a dissertation per poem, I'm guessing, and I don't have the time -- especially since what's good for one piece may be bad for another. But the gut usually ends up right, and it gets righter and righter the more I read and write ---