Young writers...

Why do so many inexperienced young poets submit their writing and beg other people to read and comment. Sometimes it's hard not to completely bash their poems, but you don't want to completely crush their feelings. What o you think?

exactly.... you don't want to crush them. When I was 14, my mom told me something that I had written was "The most ridiculous and immature thing" she had ever read. Regretfully, I burned everything I had written and didn't write again until I was in college. Looking back, I know it was the wrong reaction... and if I could read that stuff now, I might even think it was ridiculous and immature...

I wouldn't have wanted her to lie and say it was great though... but her delivery left much to be desired. And I think that's the key.... we we should be able to give honest criticism without totally smashing someone's self-esteem and hope.

~Find SOMETHING positive to say about it.
~Be polite
~Be encouraging
~Offer Suggestions

And on the other side of the coin, poets should do their best to not let criticism and rudeness hurt them. I know it's easier said than done. But honestly look at the comment and see what the person is saying and then try to improve your poem.

Ok, I'm done for now...
~Ann

Agreed Ann Marie

I try to be honest but constructive with my criticism I dont believe in sugar coating the truth, but I don't want to make someone feel like crap intentionally. Then again from giving such honest feedback I have been accused of being rude...sometimes I wonder why I bother...but in reallity its each to their own. By posting online these poets should know they have maximum exposure and that everyone is not bound to see eye to eye on their poetry pieces...

I'm young and I write decent poetry, but I dont come on the forums and beg people for comments or votes.

I just pray and wish for it ;).

When I read other teenage poetry that is mediocre, or worse, I just try to give them pointers and wait for the downvotes to come pouring in.

i think we should give them a chance, their peoms mite b gud. u dont hav to b a certain age to write good poems. wat do u consider as young?

"Should you consider age when writing?"

Yes and no. I do not think a poem should be immediately dismissed or looked over because a young person [def: anyone younger than you :) ]
wrote it.

But back to the original question of bashing "bad" poetry: The thoughts in my original answer would cover any writer regardless of age.

It just seems that most (not all by any means) young people (15-16 and under) are less able to accept constructive criticism graciously and take on a defensive attitude.

To sum it up though, EVERYONE—young or old, male or female, no matter what race, religion, or status in life—deserves respect and politeness.

I think it neds saying that many young members write beautiful and amzing poems and plenty of older writers don't. Age is irrelevant. If someone is gd at writing and conveying their emotions then that's great but those who don't should not be critized for trying. I would consider myself a young writer at 15 although i'm in my final year at high school and i don't think the stuff that i write about is childish and everyone has to have a few less great poems.

Also people write for different reasos, some mey indeed just wants comments for the sake of them, with others its because they want people to have an insight into themslelves but most i think write for themselves and use it as a way to express themselves and that is perfectly fine\and so all writers should be encouraged--- in my opinion anyway.

Jemma

Also i apologise for any typing mistakes in my posts as my keyboard is slightly dodgy and sticks a bit.

While I think that there are some very talented young writers on the site, I would have to say that most of MY personal favorites are the adults.

Sometimes if I think if I read one more cutting or love poem, I will absolutely puke.

It's cool to see how young talent develops, as it is raw (and it shows in most of "our" writing), but when I want QUALITY poetry that never disappoints, I generally go to 25+, with the exception of Lipton probably, who is fantastic in general, not just for his age.

It's nice to help the little fledglings along and a lot of teens can write good poetry if they have TALENT, but TALENT without maturity, objective perception, correct use of the English language (generally), and a tad bit of life experience, will still produce mediocre poetry, just because talent is not the only requirement for an astounding piece of art, it is just the seed.

I will be honest, when I only go check out peoples poetry if they leave me a decent comment that shows they are capable of using English appropriately, or if I run across them on the discussion boards and they intrigue me with their perspective, intellect, or English, and as much as people say that English doesn’t matter and does not make good poetry, in my experience, people who write good or impressive poetry have the capacity to use English well, so I think it is more of an indicator than age.

If I know nothing about someone and go to their profile and see that they are a teenager, I generally don’t expect to be very impressed. The older someone is the more I expect from them.

I agree.

Older people can suck, but they normally have more skills and tools to pull from than younger writers. Talent can only compensate so much for wisdom and good use of English, the same applies for the vis-versa.

Old WRITERS are not inexperianced, because they have been writing for a long time, so the statement itself is somewhat contradictory, however I know what you mean and I agree.

Some of the best poetry is about things you know NOTHING about, so even if teenagers have not really REALLY been in love or depressed, they can still write some pretty meaningful poetry about it.

I sadly agree with JPM. There is a lot of garbage out there, young or old. That's why I generally will only look at the work of reputable poets or people from the discussion boards that peak my interest and prove their mental (or English) abilities.

Even the poetry that makes the top 5 in a category isnt always good.

What I think is it doesn't depend on the age of the writer (though lordy knows I still have a way to go before I'm truly good) but good poetry relies on the writer themselves. Poetry is a work of heart, and if the writer puts heart into their work it will surely show.

I am a young writer...and I am not English-speaking...but I won a weekly award once..or someone else won with my poem=(

young people beg other people to read their poems simply because they want to know what other think of them. Many of them have just started writing, and are probably quite curious of what other people think of their writings.

I agree, Ann Marie. That is a very good thing to follow. "Everyone deserves respect and politeness". Everyone DOES, and sometimes they don't get it.

Despite what most teenagers and young poets think, emotions alone do not make for good (or even half decent) poetry.

It takes vocabulary and brain cells, which they often seem to lack.

I havent been here that long though, so I should probably keep my mouth shut.

haha.
:agree's with Kelly: