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.
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 & Jen