The trouble with poetry is it's often written to the sound of a drum only the poet may hear; nonetheless, blessed are those poets who always manage to find unshakeable pleasure in their own works.

~ Criss Jami

Criss Jami Accomplishment Bad Poetry Criticism Doggerel Drum Enjoyment Fulfillment Good Bad Poetry Good Poetry Indestructible Lyrics Misunderstood Music Perception Perseverance Persistence Perspective Pleasure Poet Poetry Reality Rhyme Rhythm Sense Of Accomplishment Sense Of Fulfillment Sense Of Perspective Sense Of Reality Sensory Sound Spoken Word Trouble Understand Unshakeable Words Work Writing

I once began to ask around what constitutes a good poem. It felt petty, in a sense. A boy would need no help in deciding which girls he thinks are pretty.

~ Criss Jami

Criss Jami Attractive Bad Poetry Beauty Belief Choice Decision Doggerel Eye Of The Beholder Eyes Foolish Good Bad Poetry Good Poetry Independence Lyrics Metaphor Opinion Perspective Petty Poem Poet Poetry Pretentiousness Pretty Security Skill Thinking Writing

A critic can call any poem 'doggerel.' That is no more than a slur. 'Doggerel' or 'maudlin' or 'sappy' or 'sentimental' is in the ear of the listener. By the by, 'sentimental' is okay as it is defined as 'marked or governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism.' It is 'sentimentality' that is to be avoided, like the fiddleback spider, being as it is 'the quality or state of being sentimental to excess or in affectation.' Again we are faced with a judgement call and must keep a sharp eye on our outpourings to insure they are not overly gooey.The intellectual elite probably believe that most of the lyrics songwriters create are 'doggerel' of one kind or another--that is to say 'trivial......the young songwriter has now been warned about the implacable nature of the enemy. Under a rather large umbrella, preferred twentieth-century taste in art of all kinds has been characterized by a kind of detachment, or sangfroid. It is simply not chic to be carried away in one's emotional reaction to a subject. All serious communication or complaint must be carefully wrapped in a protective coating of irony and/or satire.

~ Jimmy Webb

Jimmy Webb Criticism Critics Doggerel Hipsterism Sentiment Sentimentality Songwriter Songwriting

By(e) pen, I've tried my hand at poetry; only to see how boring it is to me. That is, unless I get a chance to destroy each and every piece while doing it as I please.

~ Criss Jami

Criss Jami Destruction Doggerel Free Verse Funny Funny But True Humor Lyrics Pen Poet Poetry Rebel Rhyme Writing