New York Write to Pitch Reviews, Algonkian Writer Conferences, and Poetry Forums

Thanks for the feedback, Ieuan. It’s good to get your comments again.

Good poem, Ieuan…. Enjoyed it all

Thanks, Billy

Thanks, Siva. Yeh, this forum still has problems with its software. I can’t edit the poem either.

I am blown away by that imaginative opening stanza.

Remembering Gregory Corso The world’s no longer gifted with Gregory Corso, whose humor, if it had been plugged in, would have provided a great heater for me on this most famous night of the holiday season. I’m sleeping this Christmas Eve on a roof not far from Central Park, poems and newsprint stuff...

Merry Christmas, Michael! Another forum you might try is Open Arts Forum, which I joined at the beginning of the year. https://openartsforum.com

Ieuan, you are replying to something already posted. That isn’t the problem. Try clicking the New Topic button to post something completely new. Then see what happens. You can give a title, but you can’t enter your poem into the text box.

Michael, some help? Thanks

No, we’re not. Once again, we can reply to existing posts. But we cannot either create new posts or send messages.

Michael, can you help please?

I can’t contact Neff or anyone else by trying to send a message. Neither can I post a new message. I’m only able to reply to a message, as I am doing here. Can you contact Neff for us?

I workshop at Waters, also called Tapatalk.

I like this:

Epitaph

My Alma Mater
saved me
from Vietnam

Michael, neither Caleb nor I can post new entries. We can reply to an entry, as I’m doing now, but we cannot post a new poem or even send you a message. Did the software change? Can you please look into the problem?

Thanks, Bob

Have you tried posting something completely new? I’m unable to. I can only reply, as I’m doing now.

Hi, I was going to post a poem, but New Topic button isn't allowing me to post anything. And the send messages function isn't allowing me to send a message to Michael or anyone. Are you experiencing this problem of posting something new(not adding to an existing message)?

Some nice lines, Michael. My 2 favorite images

her sun gone
the veiled moon cradling the corpse -

And

the tombstone rolled away -

the reborn sun
beaming from the black hole

There are many mags looking for gay writers, gay themes. I think you’ll find success publishing it as is. It has a lot of accurate observations. I don’t doubt that gay men will find much to relate to. We’ve talked about telling vs showing. I fall heavily on the showing side. A bit less telling and a...

It’s interesting to read how a gay man thinks. But I find the poem too telling. It isn’t one of your best.

Mocked is better. Your poems, like this one, are better when you employ one of your best strengths, your humor.

I like everything about this. Clever, polished. This has probably been workshopped before. There’s a nice flow to it.

I think the first close is better. Sometimes it’s best to put a poem aside for awhile and come back with fresher eyes. Work on something else in the meantime. Speaking from experience… I’m tied up in an April National Poetry month’s 30/30…30 drafts of new poems in 30 days. After April I will post ag...

Interesting perspective. Different. Didn’t expect this change in direction. I may not agree with such a perception(it seems pretty heartless), but I think it works for the poem.

S2 and S3 work well. Maybe S1 is as you say too prosaic. The quicker you get to S2, the better. Just my take. Run it by some others.

I like how you convey restlessness in this. And, yes, the bare legs is an especially nice detail. I like the last stanza best. Nice poem.

Thanks, Caleb, for commenting. Many others would agree about the last line. IMO it makes it slightly better. But at some point I may change it. That’s why we workshop, for constructive criticism we can consider.

When I Recall This Day These headlands may be dusted with snow, but my heart will fill with summer when I recall this day. Barns, then store fronts will have replaced these wildflowers with their red and blonde heads. A prankster wind today competes with me to muss your hair. Its honeyed scent will ...

I’m a bit fascinated by this mantra-like verse. The last stanza of this sestina works best for me. Overall I’m not sure how to tackle it from our normal critique perspective because this poem follows another tradition than that of American verse(usually imagistic). The imagery is more general and I ...