Poetry Readers Challenge discussion

The wisdom of our founding moderator:

Don't feel pressured about reviews. They don't have to be long or examine the poetry in depth. You could look at a theme, or diction, subject matter, imagery, form, word choice, or emotional effect. Whatever you like. Or pick a poem you liked & talk about that. If something doesn't appeal to you, we'd be interested to hear about that.

Try to be balanced in reviews. Just because you dislike it doesn't mean it's without value. I'm not big on Gerald Manley Hopkins, but no reflection on him. Aside from being fair, there's no need to dress up your reaction. You don't have to feel pressured to be insincere because so-and-so is the editor of Mega Poemetry Annual & you're longing to have a piece accepted there. If you're uncomfortable, don't review!

And don't be shy about reviewing a book because someone else already has. We love that.

We also love links to poem(s) from the book!

Read and prosper.
Sarah

Thanks, Jen. I may even conquer this challenge this year. Apologies to all for being so absent. I made a major move in 2017 and, weirdly, am commuting between countries many weekends. I struggled to find time for my own poetry. I managed to read all of about 6-7 poetry books last year. I hope to do more in 2018.
Happy reading all!

S. wrote: "Thanks, Jen. I may even conquer this challenge this year. Apologies to all for being so absent. I made a major move in 2017 and, weirdly, am commuting between countries many weekends. I struggled t..."

I'm hoping to be more active this year as well--which shouldn't be too hard considering how absent I was last year. It does sound like you're managing a complicated situation, Sarah. Luckily we've got such a great group that they carry on and share and welcome new comers without us. Great chemistry here!

This is a great group. I've discovered many previously unknown to me poets through these reviews.