[split] Up Mountains by RiverNotch, question about notes

[Mahjong]

I too think a poem should stand alone.  That's why I noted that notes can be considered as part of the poem, from certain critical perspectives (Eliot's notes are considered by some to be a component of his poem, The Waste Land).

At least now I've learned that, here, critique concerning notes is not 'actual critique'.  That's why moderation is so indispensable, otherwise it's 'turtles all the way down'*.

Forum poster's notes:
* See Mr Google for meaning of 'turtles all the way down', but only if need be.

;-)

Personally, I hate notes in poems.  Poems aren't lessons -- and we do have Mr Google at our fingertips.  

A poem should stand alone and at least in one layer speak to the reader without the need for a back-story or bibliography.  If it has nothing that the reader can grab hold of without notes, then it is not successful -- at least for that reader.  It is always possible that someone with a very alien set of experiences will not respond to a poem that another reader might appreciate fully on a number of levels.

Where do we stop with notes? Personally I don't have any frame of reference for drug taking or one night stands, but there are a lot of poems that seem to want me to read about those things -- would I be more inclined to do so if each metaphor were explained?  

Unlikely.