Comments on: The Case Against Poetry Workshops, Quote of the Day (Lawrence Ferlinghetti) http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/ Janice Harayda Reviews Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry for Adults and Children Thu, 16 May 2013 19:28:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4148 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:48:59 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4148 Poetman: Good questions. My version of “Can you ‘say’ it any better?” includes, “Can you say it any more briefly?” I’m a great believer in the principle of: Never say in more words what you can say in fewer.
Jan

]]> By: onepoet4man http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4145 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:53:57 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4145 Here are 3 filters Poetman puts all of his writing through.

These are for editing purpose only – never for a poems initial stream of consciousness beginning.

1. What are you trying to “say”?

2. Have you “said” what you are trying to “say”?

3. Can you “say” what you are trying to “say” any better?

Poetman

]]> By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4144 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:29:23 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4144 Malcolm: No question, some people do go to workshops (esp. those sponsored by academic writing programs) to show their work to agents and editors. There are also lots of private workshops that may have a different dynamic. By my lights workshops at the major writing programs might be better for poets hoping to publish because it gives them a chance to meet people who know how the system works (and are part of it). But not all poets want or need to publish. And if you don’t, the workshops at the big programs can definitely be, as you say, an awfully expensive way “to touch the sleeve of somebody’s jacket.”
Jan

]]> By: knightofswords http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4143 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:18:26 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4143 I don’t write by committee and really don’t see how swapping notes instead of writing makes the writing better. The workshops are an excuse to spin book ideas in front of agents and editors. It’s the peons all lying up for a chance to touch the sleeve of somebody’s jacket. At some point, I wonder how low a write is expected to go.

Malcolm

]]> By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4132 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:01:17 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4132 Have to disagree that “even bad workshops are good.” Some critics are so cruel that they can set people back.

]]> By: heehler http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4129 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 04:03:46 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/the-case-against-poetry-workshops-quote-of-the-day-lawrence-ferlinghetti/#comment-4129 I think T.S. Eliot used to give workshops. I don’t see the harm in it. Even bad workshops are good. Poetry doesn’t have to be about getting published or “succeeding.”

God forbid people would actually want to leave their homes and go to where others are talking about poetry.

Anything that promotes poetry is automatically good.

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