Does anyone else have a problem deciding that a poem is finished? I find myself revisiting, reading them month after month to think of changing, eliminating and adding elements. Am I supposed to do that until it feels right or am I supposed to just walk away after a while and concede that I'm no longer contributing any improvements to the poems? It's frustrating me. I don't have many poems as I only started to write them again recently, but those that I have I consider "done-ish."
Paul Valery said: 'A poem is never finished, only abandoned.' I would suggest when you know you can abandon a poem, or rather, cut the apron strings that tie it to you, then it's ready. Only you can know when this is. Elizabeth Bishop is famous (in poetry terms!) for leaving poems unfinished for years until she felt able to complete it. Wordsworth was an inveterate tinkerer and would amend poems long after they were first published (eg. 'I wandered lonely as a cloud'; 'The Prelude'). For what it's worth, I abandon my poems when I get bored! Not very professional, I know, but then, neither am I.
It feels like I need to feel that it's done before I, say, show people or submit for publication. I guess I'll need to try to not feel so bad about tinkering. I'm not in bad company afterall.
Keep the various versions, and then decide which is the best at a later, more objective time. I'm tempted to revisit old poems to see if I can improve on them, but then they would be instilled with a different sense reflecting my different perspective. The answer is to keep each version.
I haven't tried that. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for your response.Originally Posted by Paulclem
Paulclem is right. Keep all the versions one does with a poem. Then in the future go back and choose the best--or combine all of them into one poem.. The versions are one's poetic and inspirational endeavors. The revisions are one's critical faculties at work. There is a big difference between the two. But a poem to be complete needs both inspiration and revision.
Dostoevsky gives me more than any scientist.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. - Albert Einstein
Most poem are open-ended. They're like movies. There's an option of putting a sequel to it.
I recently read Sylvia Plath's Ariel: The Restored edition. The book features all her corrections of many of the poems therein. She, in fact, editted those poems several times over.
I do the same thing with poems I wrote even 5 or so years ago. Sometimes I just read over them and find them stupid. so I just change them then. I think when you read over something that you wrote some time ago, you are somehow getting a fresher impression of the work. It is easier to tell if something might not make sense to another person.
I tried to revise one of my attempts at a poem a cuple of years ago. I had become more interested in form, and wanted to experiement with a free form poem I had conceived years before but was not completely happy with. In fact the endeavour took me far away from where the poem started until I had a completely different poem developing.
I was just thinking tonight that it may be better to go back to the free form again, as in that form it reflected my impressions better. I think it was a useful exercise though, and I may end up with two poems..
The only poems that can ever be complete are the ones that aren't worth revising. Generally I consider a poem complete once is so good that I enjoy reading it to other people (rather than shrinking in dread). I've been writing for twenty years and I think I have two of those now.
James, that's a good point! I suppose I could consider a poem to be finished if I was confident enough to read it aloud to people. I actually enjoy the whole revising and revisiting of poems, I can just sit there for hours tweaking poems. I haven't got a single poem that I consider to be finished. I do want to draw a line on a lot of my poems though!
Barney: Hello, my name is Barney Gumble, and I'm an alcoholic.
Lisa: Mr Gumble, this is a girl scouts meeting.
Barney: Is it, or is it you girls can't admit that you have a problem?
"Sometimes I guess there just aren't enough rocks..." - Forrest Gump
Well, you have to draw that line somewhere if you plan to at least try to publish, no? I'm sure it would never happen for me but I think it's worth a try. But I constantly second guess myself. That's the issue. I guess one just needs to accept that it takes a very long time to complete a poem.
I might be ruthless and try to finish at least one poem this weekend... haha let's see if I can actually manage it!
Barney: Hello, my name is Barney Gumble, and I'm an alcoholic.
Lisa: Mr Gumble, this is a girl scouts meeting.
Barney: Is it, or is it you girls can't admit that you have a problem?
"Sometimes I guess there just aren't enough rocks..." - Forrest Gump
Yes, you do, Armel. It's a very good point. It's all well and good privileging process over product, but there has to be a point where you finish a poem and move to the next. That point comes when you feel comfortable with what you've written, and if there are minor niggles, they are outweighed by the strengths of the poem.Well, you have to draw that line somewhere if you plan to at least try to publish, no?
If you haven't written much poetry, I would say it is more valuable to write new poems, rather than dwell for too long on exisiting ones. Give them due attention, of course - it's how you learn and develop as a writer - but writing more also gives you a better sense of which poems are stronger and worth dedicating more time to, and which ones aren't worth the effort.
Also, write in different forms (or at least familiarize yourself with them) so you build up the knowledge of how to express yourself. Don't be afraid of ripping off other poets' styles, either. I've found it a good way to learn! And keep reading, particularly contemporary poetry.
If you've got some poems, why not post them on the Personal Poetry section of the forum for others to comment on? That'll give you a good idea of what others think of your writing, and gives you the chance to discuss your work, your intentions, strengths and weaknesses, etc. It also opens you to criticism, which is invaluable if you're going to develop. If you're not critically aware of what and how you're writing, then you could struggle to be an effective writer.
When they die.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
