Making Connections discussion

So it has come to my attention that someone has said when I write poetry my rhymes are "forced" and not all poetry has to rhyme..I do not force rhyme and I am aware of this.

As far as forcing rhyme goes I understand that sometimes it would seem that a word won't fit the word it's to rhyme with but I don't do this rather I have a word that fits and I do not stick it in just so it rhymes with the other word or fits the poem, all of my rhymes make sense and are thought through.

Also I am well aware that poetry does not have to rhyme however this is the style to which I am comfortable, am good at doing and enjoy doing therefore I do it this way, I understand not everyone is going to like this but I respect that and I just wish that others would respect my decision in writing this way even though they may not be a fan themselves.

I am by no means fuming like I was last time but I felt I had to make people aware of this because its the second time I felt my writing has come into questioning and like I said while I am not fuming like the last time I felt I would mention this so things don't get outta hand in the future.

This is why I ask people before they say they wanna read my book if they like poetry. Perhaps now I should mention I do like to rhyme..alot and if you don't like rhyme simply look elsewhere or even ask if i have poetry that doesn't rhyme(cause I do!)

It might be useful to get clarification on why they say you're forcing rhymes. The best defense against criticism is to incorporate it into your next book, if it's constructive.

Usually, when people say "forcing a rhyme," they mean one of the following.

1. Bending grammar or creating awkward sentence structures to get the right word at the end of the line

2. Weird word choices, phrases that don't make a lot of sense, or unnecessary phrases

3. Breaking the meter to get words where you need them

It's often a more general complaint about the "heroic couplets=POEM!" mentality that a lot of people have. If you saved any late-90s chain emails with "clever" poems, you'll find plenty of examples. Another easy trap is to end each line at the end of the thought. That, combined with a rhyme scheme, can put the reader in a sort of trance where they feel the rhythm of the poem, but don't retain any information.

Please don't take this as an accusation--I haven't read your stuff, so I don't know if you're doing any of that. I'm just speaking in general terms. It might be worth examining. If you're got consummate grammar, strict meter, and tightly composed thoughts, then the complaints are likely just because of personal taste. Some people just find rhymes distracting.