Reviewers of bush poetry

[Stephen Whiteside]

Fair comments, Vic.

I was careful the way I worded my comment about Peter Porter. The difficulty is that, for people who make such pronouncements (usually the 'literary' establishment - whatever that is) 'bush poetry' is invisible, and 'bush poets' probably wouldn't even count as poets anyway.

I take your point about Trad & Now also. I wrote a festival review some years ago which was critical on one point. The editor agreed to publish it, but told me to expect a phone call. I was able to inform him that I had already contacted the festival director myself and informed him of my review, and what it had to say. He had his side of the story, and I suppose at the end of the day we agreed to disagree. It certainly can be quite daunting anticipating conflict, but often (sometimes?) it turns out not to be as bad as you were expecting.

[thestoryteller]

One of the things that dissapointed me over the years was the unwillingness of those running written competitions to offer critiques on each poem entered. All they seemed interested in was taking your entry fee and declaring the winner and perhaps a few highly recommendeds etc.

Sadly I found that people were putting the same poems in time and again to different competitions and never altering them and hoping that a different judge might see them in a different light.

The only way folk can learn where they are falling short is to bring the problem to their attention so they can work on their poems.

Some years back I ran a number of written competitions that were associated with various festivals I was inviolved with and had three judges giving comments on every poem entered and returned them to the authors.

Some appreciated the comments and went on to improve and others sadly resented being shown and made their feelings known. The judges were all well respected poets.

So it seems you can't win. Human nature being what it is.

I have always been happy to help folk who are willing to learn and not just to have their ears tickled and am happy to say many improved out of sight with their writings.

As Henry once said it is always good to have a litery friend and I hope that you can find one too.


A Literary Friend by Henry Lawson

ONCE I wrote a little poem which I thought was very fine,
And I showed the printer's copy to a critic friend of mine,
First he praised the thing a little, then he found a little fault;
‘The ideas are good,’ he muttered, ‘but the rhythm seems to halt.'

So I straighten'd up the rhythm where he marked it with his pen,
And I copied it and showed it to my clever friend again.
‘You've improved the metre greatly, but the rhymes are bad,’ he said,
As he read it slowly, scratching surplus wisdom from his head.

So I worked as he suggested (I believe in taking time),
And I burnt the ‘midnight taper’ while I straightened up the rhyme.
‘It is better now,’ he muttered, ‘you go on and you'll succeed,
‘It has got a ring about it — the ideas are what you need.’

So I worked for hours upon it (I go on when I commence),
And I kept in view the rhythm and the jingle and the sense,
And I copied it and took it to my solemn friend once more —
It reminded him of something he had somewhere read before.

*****
Now the people say I'd never put such horrors into print
If I wasn't too conceited to accept a friendly hint,
And my dearest friends are certain that I'd profit in the end
If I'd always show my copy to a literary friend.

[Neville Briggs]

Old Henry Lawson didn't like his stuff being edited or critiqued either.

[thestoryteller]

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

There’s a sense of satisfaction
when your thoughts down deep within
reach fruition and you know it
'cause you sit there with a grin
and you wonder if your peers,
for you welcome their critiques,
would they praise the rhyme and rhythm,
but suggest the verse is weak.
There's a competition running
so you send your masterpiece
with the hope they'll treat you kindly,
but the butterflies increase.
For you've heard they can be brutal
or just honest, should I say
and your nerves are shot to pieces
when the Postie comes each day.
Then among the mail one morning
is the letter you await;
How you seem to be all fingers,
'cause you’re in an anxious state.
Still you've torn the env'lope open
and you scan down through the text
not quite knowing how to take aboard
the comments that come next.
"I have read your little poem
and this comment bears no grudge.
Put more fire into your poems
or vice versa." Yours - the Judge.

© MERV WEBSTER