Street poets VS. Academic poets

This is a multi-topic question.
First who do you admire/are influenced by most- street poets or academic poets?
Or Both?

The academic poets seem to me more concept oriented-fancy words(sacrificing thought over emotion), etc. while the street poets have always depicted more real life-more emotion. I consider myself somewhere in between as I have more of a street poets sense of life yet still an academic use of language sometimes.

Examples of academic poets:
Walt Whitman
Robert Frost
T.S. Elliot
Emerson
Poe(?)
(and archaic poets)
Shakespeare
Byron
Shelley
Blake

Street Poets:
Jim Carroll(the best street poet)
Charles Bukowski
Michael Madsen(yes, the actor)
Rod McKuen(more confessional)

and the in betweens:
Jim Morrison(of the Doors- (3 books of poetry)
Erica Jong
David Berman

and also a third group-the songwriter poets

Bob Dylan(no doubt his lyrics are poetry)
Michael Stipe(of R.E.M.)-again abstract and poetic
Fish(Derek William Dick of the band Marillion-his lyrics are definitely poetic)
Paul Simon
Patti Smith(the female punk poetess)
Tupac Shakur
Pink Floyd
Trent Reznor(of Nine Inch Nails)
Tori Amos
John Lennon
etc.

So what type of poet do you consider yourself?
What are your feelings on academic versus street poetry versus lyric poetry?
What are your thoughts on the different types/styles?

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

WWWorrrrrrdddsssslllllllliiiinnnngggggggerrrr
is a poet with 4 wheel drive, so lets go for a ride.

WARNING!!! RECITE @ YOUR OWN RISK WARNING!!! ....
I have written (self taught) Poetry since 15 October 1987, until recently
I am studying the greats, and have started the School here on OP.
I have rounded up the teachers via the net. Kabbalistic, RHPeat,
Neville, Oren, Thought Caster, Balladeer, Rhafam. I only done this to add to our
tool box( training), my fellow citizens here on OP.
Don't worry, I won't loose the old school WordSlinger feel.
I just want to add more to the 21st Century deal, lol


I create poems in all genres so don't trip!....


I have to take the road that Bruce Lee took towards the Martial Arts, as an
Analogy here. Like Water; I take the Literature Arts of Poetry.
In the beginning I used free verse, swift rhyming, lyrical, rap-groove verse.
With definition and aggression. Now I try deferent systems , in all genres, as always,
And put them to my personal use, furthermore put to use what is useful when needed,
and reject what I dont need at the time for a specific write. Using no specific way is the way,
I am the way I write, but keeping in mind, the tools at hand. No limitations as the limitation.
With all poetry styles ( trapping, and grabbing )-(Mind locks-Heart locks-Spiritual locks-)
Honestly expressing ones self is difficult to do: The Poet, the creating individual is always
more important than any style or system. Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless,
And add to what is your own. I write my own interpretation of poetry. Concepts behind concepts.
Dedicating to creating creative new-original thoughts, and poetry. Like I write with one hand, but if I could write with the other, at the same time, a different poem, that would be to break boundaries.
As asking multi-tasking: Poetry styles separate poets. Style is a continuous growth.
Poetry skills/tools are weapons and you have to use all of them, to incorporate all styles.
(Move all parts of your poetry) Put everything into it, all energy. Rest then progress.
A true poet is constantly growing, and when he or she are bound by a set of styles,
or a way of doing things, thats when he stops growing.
To reach a reader you have to move to them, advance, and retreat- advance retreat, furthermore slide and step back, push, and push back, circle them
( put the reader on defense),and close them in, and hit them with the best closure.
Poetry is like water, flexible, it has to go somewhere.

Currently I am here, studying your American Poetry Past and Present Class:
This study thread is amazing with Highlighted notes, impressive book.
http://www.originalpoetry.com/forum/view/topic/topic_id/3910#16008

Hey, reality is what you can get away with so don't believe any of this post ,
but then again a spirit is a spirit isn't it

Treacherous urges steadily spur on this dreadful adventure of what we lure!
~
In the Poets' hood keep the Poets' eye- For a good Poet shall never die!

Last edited by WordSlinger 07-04-2010 at 07:14:55 PM

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RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

well, I guess my catalog speaks for itself. Although I have been more than inspired by Jim Morrison (I own 2 of his books and his spoken word albums) and Bob Dylan, I guess I am more of an acedmic, with my chief influences being YEATS and Poe. I seem to respon better to more "acedemic" poems.

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

I hate to categorize anything to tell you the truth. I think the mark of good poetry or lyrics is the how much imagery, thought, and feeling it provokes with minimal words. When I think acedemic, I see folks who are pretentious, long winded and who try to impress folks with obsure words...I just don't get what people see in some of the last centuries "great" poets. Hank Williams touched more souls than TS Elliot. When I think street, I think forced rhymes and commercial shallowness such as much of the hip/hop - rap I hear. Shock and vulgarity grow old after a while. But, that being said, there's a lot of good stuff out there including the classics and the folks on this website. Just remember, most famous poets are only known for one or two pieces and are only read in anthologies. Maybe we'll all get lucky enough to land in one someday. Sorry...guess I strayed somewhat off topic

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

What an excellent topic! I think there is a good argument on both sides. While academic poetry is much more structured I find that many poets get lost in the use of language, to the extent they hide the expression of the poem so deep within they sybombolic word that many never really see the meaning at all. Personally I love this type of writing because I love the challenge of the riddle, but for the average reader I think much gets lost in the translation. If the reader has to spend all his/her time trying to understand the laguage used than at what point do they have time to really feel the emotion of the poem? Don't get me wrong I love nothing more than just sit down with a good poem and just read it over and over till the message become clear in my mind, but really how many people take the time? And if the message of the poem is lost in the riddle than what is the point? Also many poets trying to write poetry use the language of poetry in rhyme and meter but lose the very essence of what makes a good poem. Street poets on the other hand use much more free verse and the language tends to be more common place and easier to understand. While academic poetry is built in riddles and hidden in symbolism street poets tend to be very blunt and the message is much easier to see. This type of poetry also tends to be filled with raw emotion and feeling. I personally think a good modern day poet finds him/herself somewhere in the middle. the true power of poetry is the ability of a poem to become more than just the words on a page but to transend the written word and to create something much more meaningful. True poetry is the window to one's heart and soul, it allows others to see through your eyes, to feel the emotion as you felt it, to walk for a moment in time in another shoes. It gives the reader the opportunity to gain persepective on the world and those around them and to selfreflect that prosoective on them selves. It allows for a looking glass relfection. As one gains perspective it allows one to truely grow. This in my opinion is the true power of poetry, whether it be a street poet or an academic one if the poem allows the reader an avenue to such a relaization than the poem has done its job well. Just my own rambling thoughts, perhaps I see, perhaps I am blind... Purity of the soul, journey well!!!! Angel aka Poem Buster.

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

I agree with everyone of you, as some of the work of Shakespeare contained merely language of the time. That's just an example, even though he was educated. It can be said by many poets of previous centurys.

Every poet here that I have read are original to me, a few of you I haven't read.

I believe that the 'best' poets out there (those who manage to be original yet fluent) can be a combination of two. Writing about life experiences, however using complex lexicons and ambiguity to create an original set of poetry.

CS

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

It is very interesting discussion. My humble attempts to right poems in English came from reach history of Russian poetic tradition and poetic culture. I cannot even say if there was street poetry in Russia. Poetry was embedded in our life. Our elementary school text books where full of poems of Russian poets of 19 century (Pushkin, Lermantov,Necrasov and so on). Learning poetry by heart was part of the homework starting from second grade.
In late early 70th (when I was in college) poetry got out “on the streets”. Young poets like Evtushenko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Yevtushenko), Rojdestvenskii, Voznesenskii read their poems on the stadiums (!!) and there where enough listeners to fill the stadiums. And then Bard song or author song movement started. People who started it where mostly belong to professions like geologists, mountain search and risqué –people who spent a lot of time outdoors. Nature is very inspiring and guitar is the instrument that you can take with you in the field. Then this movement become much wider and it create such names as Bulat Okudzhava http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulat_Okudzhava
and Vladimir Visockii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Vysotsky#English_sources.

In parallel with that there wher tons of poetry clubs and studios. I was member of one of it. We had meetings twise a month and we listen presentations well known published poets and literary scholars. (Evtushenko and Okudzava where welcomed guests there) And each of us had a their own presentation day twice a year when you read your poems and members reviewing it and discussing it.

i need to say that art of poetic translation was very high in Russia. Famous poets did full translation of Shakespear (we had 8 volumes of Shakespear in my house), Robert Berns, Edgar Paw, Bairon. Wolt Witmen. I have never come across Robert frost or Emili Dikenson translations thaw...

And in the same time because of Soviet censorship all of this activity was on the edge of legality, and because of real danger it was even more exiting for young people. And it was real danger. Lots of poetry that has protest or criticism of power went underground. Such poetry has never been published and multiplying and distributing of it was illegal and punishable. Such poetry was retyped on typewriters and where distributed between friends and trustworthy people. Punishment for poets and distributers and gathering hosts varied from beeing expeled from college to prison or even worse - forced psychiatric hospitalisation..

When perestroika come and strit marches become regular part of our lifes poetry reading become part of this huge meetings that accumulate thousands of people.
So Russian poetry is street and academic in the same time.

And now I am elementary school student again, lernig other language and other culture. But I think poetry is just way of thinking and see the world. To be a good poet you have to master the language because it is your instrument, like you can not be good carpenter without knoing technic of building houses and knowing how to use your tools. But in poetry you have to be architect, not just carpenter and this architectural ability is not depend on the language it is your way of thinking and seeing the world

Last edited by Forestbird 06-30-2010 at 09:47:32 AM

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

I guess street poets inspire me the most, It seems somewhat purer in a way.

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

A real thought provoker here! What constitutes a desirable read for those who like poetry? Elements of structure originating from both the left and right hemispheres of the brain we are told by some experts constitute a well balanced presentation. Outside the box, if one likes olives or garlic and the other wants no spice in their intake either is just as valid a way to get your meal.
As a former graphic artist I tended to draw cartoons more convincingly than elegant or classy representations of whatever subject I chose to work on.( I pined at times to be able to do the latter as well.) As a poet I find freedom in structure...as it's a natural proclivity to be conforming the content to a framework based on a knowledge of grammatical structure. What I try doing is keeping a balance between presenting a puzzle to be discovered and being divisively vague or masked, (as if something of an inside joke.)
I pine at times as a reader, to be able to understand or have some kind of simpatico with some basic- gut level presentations that require an empathic ..."Ya! I know what you mean" response. I'm not bankrupt but I miss a few things here or there.
I think the point is, and I've read it or heard it discussed as being an important benchmark of creative operation ... "Write to please yourself first." If it comes out on its own without an agenda attached - it's more likely to be received as valid in a critique regardless what label you choose to stick on it.

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

Poets, I like them all.

But most of all, I go for the un-tradional poets. They are the poets that extend themselves beyond the established fact toward a new concept of presentation for a new generation. They are willing to glean information from the traditional, anti-tradional and anything else out there that uses language to communicate feelings, concepts and sensual information, melody and figurative language through versification— they wish to form an new un-tradional attitude that isn't afraid of the old or the new.

They are the poets that know the language of poets world wide, no mater where the poets are from, or what they have done, regardless of time, place, country, race, nation or if they are people that are totally isolated from the greater part of the planet, for all people have poetry, the heightened use of music in their language which offers the un-tradional poet more tools to play with, within their personal pursuit of presentation.

They are the poets that are willing to extend and stretch the poetic outlook in the presentation of language to form a new concept about the information within the craft. They want to widen and expand the pathways toward the written song to reach its fullest Capacity. They are the poets that wish to extend what can be done with language— musically, metaphorically, and creatively through the presentation of versified form without limit. They seek the highest form of creativity to express their muse— not by being exclusive, but by being inclusive: they are the untraditional poets. They are the poets that know readers are a vital part of the presentation of poetry that will extend these concepts. They have the wish to communicate to readers, therefore they write untraditionally into the timeless thought of presentation.

A poet friend
RH Peat

Last edited by RHPeat 07-04-2010 at 04:20:20 PM

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

My oh my this subject crosses my mind frequently. What genre or type of poet am I? It seems I do not have an entirely traditional style, yet that is my first love from elementary and high school. As far as street poetry, I admire the fast melodic beat, the undulating delivery of the voice, the often dramatic theatrical delivery and all is spoken is memorized notread off a paper like I read. I respect those street poets cause they have it all over me as far as guts and ego. Then there's the songwriter's style which I certainly can relate to and have written but the nature poet seems to suit me well, is a genre I aspire to and am successful with. I guess I fall in between traditional and singer/songwriter. My poetic prowess for street poetry, rap, and dark poetry has not been tapped yet. And as far as the collegiate abstraxct poetry, as much as I admire the poems I read in my "Poetry" monthly subscription (hard copy), they are often a bit too avant gard for my taste, yet noble and extremely cerebral just the same. I am truly a fan of Thoreau, Dickinson, Poe, Whitman, Frost, Rumi, Cullen Bryant.But when I yearn for abstract I trurn to Plath and Hughes. Often a novel written in creative writing can inspire me or a few haiku. Or I sit doen and read fellow 20-21st century poets chapbooks and all of you I have read thus far here on OP. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle of the poetry genre melting pot. Cheers and Happy 4th!!
ginga

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

I am the songwriter poet most of the time.

I think it is hard to say any single person can fall into one category, all of the time.

I do best at prosody (when I choose the right words... ha ha).

I choose to pursue Haiku Poetry because my thoughts run short, and the longer I talk the more often I destroy any potential beauty I have built. Don't feel sad for this, or perhaps you are the same? Because it is most important to recognize what you are good at, then develop that part.

I took up art, visual art, because there are even fewer words involved (oh how important a title is to a painting!).

I lean to the street side poetry, a dark unexplored street, cool with fog. I can only see the bricks on the road in front of me, and cannot totally make out what lies ahead. But I know my imagination is so much farther ahead.

Peace Out, Gary
.

(Good thoughtful question!)

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

So which is better...street or academic? I'm not sure there is a difference. The poets that we look upon now might well have been the street poets of their day. It was a different world back then. On the other hand, the street poets of today may well have expanded the knowledge and training they got by studying the academic poets. They are all different parts of the same animal. Just as an actor can be dramatic, a bit player, or a comedian. so can poets be any style they choose. They are all poets. I shy away from questions like, "Which poetry is better?" because it all depends on the person. A person simply needs to find the form that suits him/her the best and write on! Whichever style one employs to get his message across in the best possible way is the right form for him. I wrote a poem some time ago to illustrate this point...

"My Lord", the Queen said, "by your leave I've written down a rhyme
And would be proud for you to comment on, should you have time.
I've woven quite a tapestry of images that sing
A message that I feel would be befitting for a king."

"A rhyme?", the King said. "Lady, there is nothing I hate worse
Than silly little couplets forced together into verse!
Pure prose alone is strong enough to make a message clear
And not this childish ditty that you dare to offer here."

Just then the castle doors sprung wide and, entering from the night,
A young man rushed, quite out of breath with features full of fright.
"My King!", he cried. "The armies of our foes are on the march!
They're pillaging the villages with saber, lance and torch."

"Our legions need men and supplies. Please do not hesitate
Or, by this time tomorrow, they'll be at the castle gate!"
The King reacted quickly. Reinforcements were dispatched
And, by the eve, the tide had turned...the danger met and matched.

That evening in the royal bed, the Queen quite sweetly, said
"That boy who warned us of the fight-was his hair blond...or red?"
"What's this?", replied the King. "What nonsense do I hear from you?"
"That boy", she said, "who came today. Were his eyes brown...or blue?"

"Was his body big and strong...or was it rather small?
Were his features pale or sunburned? Did you find him short or tall?
Did you spy rings on his fingers or a chain around his neck?
When he moved, did he bend down a bit or did he stand erect?"

"My Queen, you've truly gone insane to ask such foolish things.
I care not if he had ORANGE eyes...or if he wore TEN rings!
I care not how he walked...care not what color horse he mounted!
The boy held no signifigance - the message was what counted!"

"My lord", the Queen said, "by your leave, I've written down a rhyme
And would be proud for you to comment on, should you have time......"
The King smiled. In his eye, a humorous twinkle could be seen.
He said, "I am a lucky man to have such a wonderous Queen."

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

I find the questions you pose to be simply bullshit. Street poets? Academic poets?
Bullshit!! Poetry cannot be divided into camps as warring factions pitted against each other. Now there's good poetry and, well, the not so good. I find your position demeaning to all poets, regardless of what you consider yourself!

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

And another thing!!!
All poets, indeed, all writers draw their material from experiences and observations. If one has a bit of formal education in the area of poetry, then it's simply part of his experience, So what? If one has no formal education in the area of poetry, so what, again? It does not matter one way or the other. Now there are good poets and bad poets, but even that is subjective. There's a particular contributor on OP whose name I won't reveal (J.L) whose poetry is utter SHIT! in my opinion. But I'm sure he has many devotees who think he's the cat's meow! So what? There are several (perhaps, legions!) who regard my little verses as poop. So what?
But to start listing people and labelling them as to which camp they belong sends me over the edge!!! Who are any of us to pontificate so?
I rarely read bits posted in the Forum, and I have a good reason. Much of it is pure puffery, and this so-called topic is no exception!

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

And just one more thought before I stand down and turn the soap box over to others:
Good writers (poets, novelists, playrights, whatever) are good thinkers. That's the only yardstick I know of to truly measure artistry of any kind.
So there!!! My blood pressure has now stabilized and I shall retire from the field, content that I have had my say, and some more say, and even some more say, so now I can sleep in peace.

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

Interesting....

There are a variety of things that get my blood pressure rising....the current oil spill, for example. Add to that the fact that over 25,000 children die of hunger every day in the world, the rising level of poverty, the victims of floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, walking through the Humane Society to see thousands of animals looking at one with shiny eyes that say "please love me and take me home", knowing many of them will be put to death, seeing films of poachers in Africa slaughtering elephants for their tusks, reading about all of the injustices committed in the world and the genocide conducted in third world countries.... all of these things create a sadness and anger in me that makes me want to scream out and hit something. For some reason, though, a question about poetry on a tiny poetry site that is not even a speck in the cyberspace universe, has not achieved that importance which would cause me to scream, rant, accuse,curse and throw a fit . Maybe I should recheck my priorities??

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

I think this is a valid topic. I do. Not because Im taking sides on the matter- but because this question has been raised throughout writing history where poetry, and music- are concerned. Without this question 'free verse' wouldnt exist.
I also believe to comment 'the poem is either good or bad'- is ridiculous, without addressing this topic.

Whether the piece is good or bad- depends on the reader- their 'opinion', and that would be where it stands on this topic as well- I have a friend who can't stand early american poetry, but loves all the contempory stuff- I cant say he's wrong! I dont get it, but this is how he determines art.
I am an uneducated poet. Am I still a poet- I think so, because I express my spirit through writing-does everyone agree, probably not.. but there is definately more to writing then.. it's either 'good or bad'.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.. I believe this hold true with poetry as well.
-ps- I do want to add (in my opinion) if street poets, grew academically in the genre they love- they can only get better at there skills. We all have room to grow and learn in this art. To me both sttreet and academic, are equal.. but I got a soft spot for the educated pieces-
just me..

smiles, Maddi

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

Balladeer,
Those issues you mentioned that provoke your ire provoke mine as well, and, I would imagine, most OP contributors. Sorry you couldn't recognize harmless satire. I was merely expressing my idea that the earlier postings were divisive and counter-productive. I think the whole debate is silly. I still think it, whether you take personal offense, or not.

RE: THE FREEDOM OF POETRY IS ETERNAL.

The Act To Express One’s Self

To write anything and post it or put it in print is a political statement. Poetry therefore is political. To have the internal need to express your personal views is political; it is a courageous personal act. And to uplift that personal statement to a form as an art-form is a grand expression of life; which means everything needs to be talked about. Poetry is limitless in this sense. For every conscious person can reach the agreement to disagree for the benefit of the whole. That we can all share our differences openly without the fear of threat of assault or battery. In this sense poetry has always been inclusive and not exclusive no matter where it has been written, even under great suppression.

The right to write and post what you want is taken for granite in many places; it’s a literary explosion that goes un-questioned. While in other places within the world it is taken at great risk. Many have lost their political right to write what they feel by being planted in the ground. They have not lost their rights to make literally statements. What they have lost is their right physically by being permanently silenced. So let us all agree to disagree in that freedom to express all such statements openly, so we can hear all the voices sing their songs openly. That’s what poetry is all about. And that is why there is a need to express those views about poetry for the benefit of everyone on the planet.

A poet friend
RH Peat

Let Them Sing Their Songs

Let me hear the nightingale's dark song
once more, just before the edge of dawn.
Let me hear the raven and the stellar jay
rattle their curses in the live-oaks at noon.
I love to listen to the crows in the cornfield
and the magpies high in the Walnut trees.

Let the woodpeckers tap me out a rhythm
that sends me shuffling on the cobble stones
to dance beneath their bright winged hours.
Let the quail pierce the air like an ice-pick;
Let me hear the lies of the mocking bird!
I shiver in the golden tones of wild canaries.

My sight falls into dreams when the whippoorwill
sings its melancholy heart out within the dusk
I listen for the great horned owl's ghostly
too-whoo-it-hoot in the deep moonless night
as wind-shivered twigs undress the stars.
I pause to feel their songs deep in my bones.


===================================
RH Peat 3/20/2009

Last edited by RHPeat 07-08-2010 at 01:44:49 PM

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

Not wanting to offend anyone, I offer the following, all in good fun:

I find I must agree with Richard
This debate topic is for the birds
Why pit two camps against each other
In a battle of many words

Although, if I were forced to choose
A side in the war on words
I’d call myself a lyric-street poet
That hangs around with nerds

More of an engineering mindset
Read Poe’s short stories once, for fun
But I wasn’t graded on it
No A- when I was done

I don’t know what iambic means
Nor do I really care
Pentameter, tetrameter
They don’t matter, so there!

I’ve never studied the classics
Shakespeare, Frost, nor Kipling
Upon the road less traveled
I found the journey somewhat crippling

“Can’t we all just get along?”
As Rodney King once asked it
Don’t get your panties in a bunch
And run around all spastic

So I’ll leave you with a thought
For all my poetic sisters and brothers
Write for the pleasure of writing
But share it for the pleasure of others
-Londo

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

No worries, good sir. I never take personal offense because I don't give people that much power. I'm assuming that you meant everything in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way because what type of person would be so incensed over something so trivial?? So I bow to your acting ability there, sir.

I guess the sore part that struck me is hearing someone call another's poetry shit. There always seems to be a lot of that going on. Having worked with poets for a long time, I do feel the offense, but for them, not me. Everyone who writes a poem begins with a blank piece of paper, a pen and their thoughts. They write them down the best way they can. Not many people who write expect to be a Browning or Keats. They write because they want to, perhaps as an outlet for them. Does anyone have the right to call their work shit? I really don't think so, if they are doing the best they can, based on their talent or ability. Does that mean they should be praised for their work? No, undeserved praise is demeaning to both the author and the critic. I think one should respect their attempt, though, at least by the silence of not degrading it.

You have mentioned that your comments were your way of having a little fun and that's good enough for me, my mistake for not recognizing it as such. I DO agree that the topic is fairly ridiculous

RE: RE: THE FREEDOM OF POETRY IS ETERNAL.

Really like your comment and your poem.
And I am the one who is not taking freedom of expression for granted. I watched how it works otherwise
I

RE: RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

Balladeer, In my poem I wrote about agreeing with Richard. I meant that the debate topic is for the birds. That is all. I do not know who the J. L. is to which he referred. So I am not calling anyone's work (shit). I just wanted to clear the are about this.

Thanks, Londo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balladeer

No worries, good sir. I never take personal offense because I don't give people that much power. I'm assuming that you meant everything in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way because what type of person would be so incensed over something so trivial?? So I bow to your acting ability there, sir.

I guess the sore part that struck me is hearing someone call another's poetry shit. There always seems to be a lot of that going on. Having worked with poets for a long time, I do feel the offense, but for them, not me. Everyone who writes a poem begins with a blank piece of paper, a pen and their thoughts. They write them down the best way they can. Not many people who write expect to be a Browning or Keats. They write because they want to, perhaps as an outlet for them. Does anyone have the right to call their work shit? I really don't think so, if they are doing the best they can, based on their talent or ability. Does that mean they should be praised for their work? No, undeserved praise is demeaning to both the author and the critic. I think one should respect their attempt, though, at least by the silence of not degrading it.

You have mentioned that your comments were your way of having a little fun and that's good enough for me, my mistake for not recognizing it as such. I DO agree that the topic is fairly ridiculous

RE: Street poets VS. Academic poets

No problem, londo. I did not take anything you said the wrong way and I actually enjoyed your poem. Write on!