Poetry feasts and nibbles - some evaluation

[alpharaposa]

I've done two poetry feasts and one nibble, and now I'm evaluating the possibility of doing more in the coming year.

Here's what I've learned:

Good poetry takes energy and time. I am short on energy in the winter, and work takes up much of my time. So, in order to do my best, I find that I take much longer to finish the poems than one day or even one week. While I eventually get to them all, it may take a while.

If I rush things out of a sense of obligation (self-imposed, but there nevertheless), then I end up writing sub-standard poetry (at least, by -my- standards). I think, if I were to simply go for speed, then I would have to cut the field down to something more like a "haiku day" or "limerick day", where I can quickly turn out simple poems with the same rules.

However, it seems that the people who have requested poems also don't mind waiting all that much, so long as I have a way to let them know their poem is finished.

There's also the question, what do I get out if it? And part of it is that I enjoy the attention (we all like to show off now and then). But mostly, I find that I'd like to write, but I am either short on ideas or can't pick out of the myriad thoughts available.

In short, my readers who put in requests are playing the muse, giving direction and some inspiration to the portion of energy I have to spend.

So, the conclusion I've reached is that poetry feasts and similar items are things I will do again, but I will probably include a short disclaimer to let people know that I work full-time and thus it might be a while before I finish. I think people are fairly forgiving on this aspect, particularly for free work, and I will be able to do a better job without the guilt hanging over me.

Comments

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

You might also try aiming for long poems, but a shorter span for people to post prompts. haikujaguar does One Card Draws with only an hour open time. I do my Poetry Fishbowls all day. Do what works for you.

Re: Hmm...

[stryck.livejournal.com]

I rarely read or write poems past a certain length, which is probably one of the reasons sestinas give me such fits.

The main exception is narrative poetry.

One of my skills in writing is brevity. Unfortunately, that means that length is difficult! My Spanish teacher in high school used to criticize me for writing such brief works in Spanish, until she found out that I did similarly for English essays and the like.

I've toyed with the idea of a 'chain poem'. Each prompt would be for a stanza in a long poem, knitting together what would probably be a very odd story.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> One of my skills in writing is brevity. <<

You could collect a list of interesting short forms. Let's see...
haiku -- 3 lines
cinquain -- 5 lines
tanka -- 5 lines
sextilla -- 6 lines
huitain -- 8 lines (this one is Spanish)
indriso -- 8 lines
triolet -- 8 lines
diamante -- 7 lines

>>I've toyed with the idea of a 'chain poem'. Each prompt would be for a stanza in a long poem, knitting together what would probably be a very odd story.<<

At least two forms lend themselves to that. Haiku are often written in chains. The ghazal form often has stanzas that seem unrelated until you read the end, which states a unifying theme.