7 hours ago
Let us take a different question: does a good writer HAVE to be a good critic? The answer is clearly, no: a good writer (don't know about 'great', or what that bar is) can very well be a lazy critic. Or he might be exhibiting unconscious competence without ever having analysed his own work, or anyone else's, critically. We're all learning machines, but not all of us study the learning process itself, which is the critic's job.
To your question: does a good critic HAVE to be a good writer? Yes and no.
Yes - if you're looking for feedback on what would make a poem better.
No - if you're looking for feedback on what is or what is not working for him as a reader. That feedback is often more valuable than hearing what changes to make, which a lot of the time don't work anyway.
To your question: does a good critic HAVE to be a good writer? Yes and no.
Yes - if you're looking for feedback on what would make a poem better.
No - if you're looking for feedback on what is or what is not working for him as a reader. That feedback is often more valuable than hearing what changes to make, which a lot of the time don't work anyway.