Comment 22 by Gareth Rosser
Thank you corylus,

You are welcome :)

maybe i should look into poetry a little more ... but i am torn and seem to have a natural repulsion for doing so (brought on by English lessons in school i think) -

Oh dear - I detect the mark of a bad teacher.

I'm not saying i don't want to hear criticism of my work ... i need to ... but maybe it's just to know where i am with it - i'm happy with what i write, but it seems a hard thing to simply and easily share, just for the sake of sharing.

Of course it's hard.  Poetry is very personal writing - you display a part of yourself when you show it to someone else.  Intimacy can be a tough thing to face. 

I find it curious that branding ones words with the title 'poetry' instantly makes it either 'good' or 'bad' ... especially as an atheist, in atheist territory here - i'd like to think life and expression were more about being 'without-label' and without heavy judgement.

Well, poetry is a special case because talk of 'good' or 'bad' can be employed for different reasons.  

It can be a matter of expressing immediate emotional reactions which are, of course,  often a matter of individual taste.  I know I find some poetry 'bad', which others adore, so I do understand your feeling a little peeved upon hearing talk about 'bad' poems and people automatically considering themselves correct in that.  Yes, there is an extent to which we should be tolerant of the artistic reactions of others.

However, there is another way in which poetry can be 'good' or 'bad' and that relates to whether the poet has managed to either play by the rules or (at the least) managed to create an impression by meaningly breaking the rules.  These "rules" relate to the type of rhyming scheme used (if at all) and the rhythm of the words used etc.  Poetic form is something that can be measured rigorously and poems legitimately deemed 'good' or 'bad' in light of that assessment. 

i know it's a good idea to try to structure things properly so they last, but that's not really the game i'm interested in myself ...

Well going for the immortality acheivement with poetry is a tough goal, so it is best not to worry about structure just to acheive that one.  However, there are other reasons form can be use...

Firstly, if you are using poems to um 'get close' to people (you know what I'm sayin' right?) then form can help in that words with set rhythms can sound deeply appealing.  If you are going to whisper sweet nothings in someone else's ear it can be a good plan not to sound asthmatic ;)

Secondly, if you are writing for yourself - in order to express your own thoughts - then sticking to a set form can help you channel your words and your feelings. Form has been used to organise the strongest of emotions.  This is one of the reasons why so much First World War Poetry was written in the technically tough sonnet form. 

... it's something of a family trait that i've noticed in me - that as soon as i appear to get any good at anything, i don't want to do it anymore - it's not very clever and practical, but i do like the openness it gives me ...

Yes.  Excelling; just like the personal disclose that happens when we write; can be frightening.  People keep expecting you to do it, see.  Hmm, maybe you care more about what others think of your work than you realise?

Anyway, nuff from me on poetry tonight!  Again, keep writing and enjoying yourself when you do :)