Bad Poetry

[ellajam]

So, serious question (directed at no one in particular): how do you approach critting a piece that is genuinely bad? Not bad in just one way, but fairly crappy in several areas (grammar, punctuation, format, accessibility of imagery, sonics, conceit, meter, etc). Where do you start?

I find it hard to distill the "essence de manure" into a reasonable word limit. Should I just stick with one flaw and go with it? How do you determine which errors are the most egregious?

Sometimes I just can't, can't use the energy or time to try to be constructive. But when I can, I'll crit if I can focus on one thing that seems right and at least one point where it seems the poem is trying to do something identifiable and I have a hope that something I say can help the poem get there.

We all start somewhere. When someone seems to have put the effort in to try it would be great if they could get some usable feedback. But nobody has to crit every poem, we can share the load.

If I can't unpack a poem I leave it alone. http://slideplayer.com/slide/6107874/

Solid link. I definitely crit sometimes before I unpack, usually if something seems so good I worry that it might be cut if I don't stand up for it or if something stands out as off and I have a clear idea of how it might be improved.