Comments on: How Do You Know When A Poem Is Finished?

By: Hans

Hans — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:11:24 +0000

Thanks for this post. Well done. Hanss last blog post..Baseball Poetry

By: Benjamin Harrell

Benjamin Harrell — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:20:08 +0000

Nice read. Makes me want to experiment a bit more now. Benjamin Harrells last blog post..Sports - Los Angeles Lakers Parade

By: the poet

the poet — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:27:47 +0000

Cool, David. I hope you keep coming back. Short poems work too. I have some of them. But I’m partial to the long forms, epics, and experimenting with all the many facets of language.

By: David J. Gluck

David J. Gluck — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:05:18 +0000

For me a poem just flows naturally. I write mostly short poems and then put them away for a day or two, maybe a week, month or year, then I may rework it some or I may not. Sometimes they are just done for me and left to be interpreted by the reader.

I haven’t written any poems that are that long. I enjoy the quick turns and bounces that conclude in surprise.

I am glad I stumbled across this blog and will be interested in the insight you continue to offer.

By: the poet

the poet — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:30:56 +0000

Hi, Jim. Good to see you back to commenting again. I thought you’d given up on me.

The actor illustration is apt as well. You don’t stop being what you are just because you’re engaged in a different activity. But as far as the work goes, I see them all as like children. They each need a little bit more attention than the others in one or a few specific areas. They’re each unique so they each have their own unique needs. You spend the time on them that you need to in order to see them to maturity.

By: Jim Murdoch

Jim Murdoch — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:42:41 +0000

I used to spend months on my poems, not that anything I've written is anywhere near as long as this one, but over the years I've realised that one can obsess for no reason. Does it really matter if he said, "Hang on a minute," or "Hang on a second," or a "mo" or a "sec"? You can drive yourself mad and never finish anything. You are right. It's intuitive. The time to stop is at that point when, if you keep going, you will start to ruin what you've been working on. Besides it's the job of the reader to finish the poem. You just stop writing when you've said enough. I like your illustration of the pilot by the way. I've used a similar one to encourage a young poet we had staying with us a while ago. I made the point that a writer isn't only a writer when engaged in the physical act of writing any more than an actor stops being an actor when the director shouts, "Cut!" Jim Murdochs last blog post..This post is bluey-green and tastes minty fresh