Versifier

Versifier

contemptuous title

to aggrandize

the appraisal

of my inferior talent

to write

silly poetry

inflammatory wit

pathetic fallacy

hand over pen

pretend poet

pretentious critic

struggling narrator

w/ fraudulent fare

versifier

wracked with ambition

nonsense verse               

anthologized

my life’s work

                vilified

among acrid artists

                for sport

**

A critic can certainly play an integral role in the way your creative endeavors are received by others.  Critics pose as a public arbiter of taste, opinion and acceptance, their job is to assess all forms of creativity.  Some of their critical thinking and weighing the pros and cons of a piece of work are managed by a certain kind of critical thinking, based on reputation and their own acute judgments.  A critic can make or break a movie, an author, a political figure and influence popular opinion.  In this same breath, it can also be said, we are our own worst critics. 

I often find myself opposed to a critic’s opinion, on the opposing end of the judgment and/or argument so I sometimes perplex myself when I refuse to listen to the negative reviews of let’s say Baz Luhrmann’s imagining of  Fitzgerald’s ‘Gatsby’ why I am so insistent to believe the (sometimes) negative self-talk/analysis of my own work?

A conundrum at best, hence the enclosed poem. 

I write for pleasure, because I believe in it, the act, the process and the end result.  I believe in putting something good into the world and I would like to think I do that with my writing; of course it isn’t going to appeal to everyone but to those that it does, I hope it imparts a bit of goodness.   Stories and songs and poems are universal languages, spoken in all sorts of different tongues, dialects, tones, styles and rhythms.  It’s so amazing to be among the long line of noise makers who liven up our culture, enrich the world and cherish the intention to pay art forward, in the spirit of sharing and inspiring others.

I understand critics have a job to do and I respect that.  I understand in many ways they are a necessary evil, like taxes.  I just like finding out for myself, what I like, what moves me, what disturbs me – all art is worthy.  All art means something to someone.  There are all sorts of things I’m not fond of but I appreciate the things people who love them take away.  My tastes are a direct measure of my morals and values and there are some things that defy them, which make them fascinating and thought provoking.

Taste, it’s all subjective.  It’s all relative.  We are individual as artists, as people and as consumers.  I like that even though there are universal languages we are still able to love what we love and ponder the things we don’t.  I like to listen to my gut, my heart and my intuition instead of any critic.  I would also be wise to apply that likeness to myself.  Right?

Happy Tuesday!  

In propinquity,

Nic