Do you think poetry should be edited?

Question

Once written, do you think poetry should be revised? Like, if for some reason your readers don't connect with it (but you do) should it be edited for their benefit?

Or do you believe that poetry is something that shouldn't be altered once created?

I'd appreciate some intellectual opinions on this.

Answer 1

No but background information could be given.

Answer 2

No, there will be some ppl that cannot connect but there will be far more that will. Keep writing!

Answer 3

Yes, I think that a good poem must be rewritten a number of times to make it 'right'....However, and with that said... two of my best poems were written on the first pass and left to stand as they were/are.  Both were written at times of great emotion: one when my mother passed and the other when I sensed I'd found the love of my life.  I guess what I'm saying is there's no correct answer except that I would always edit for grammar and punctuation.

Answer 4

Yes. I think poetry should be edited. That is part of the refining process. Many early drafts are only touching on the message that the poet wants to convey, it takes a great deal of process and work to bring that to the surface.

It isn't so much that you are only editing for the benefit of the reader. You edit to make the work stronger, and that is what is most important.

I can only speak for my own work and there are poems that I have edited 30-40 times. This process makes them stronger.

I'm sure there will be other opinions.

Answer 5

poetry can be revised. sometimes you can write something that you dont mean or that is supposed to mean something else.  if you revise a poem you should not change the whole poem. just until it says exactly what you want it to say.

Answer 6

Good editing is needed in any kind of writing.  

If you are writing for yourself- then change it if you want or leave it as something to look back on (like and old photograph).

If you are writing for other people- (unless it is a school project) you have bigger questions to answer than editing.  If a reader doesn't connect with what you write it could be the fault of the writing (bad idea, bad execution, too inside) the reader (some people don't like poetry) or the inevitable condition of  art..... not everyone is going to like the same thing.  

I am sure you have read poems that you didn't "connect" with it doesn't necassarily make it a bad poem, it just means it isn't for you.  Sorta like being in love.

Good luck

Answer 7

I find some things I've written in the past to be too fluffy and without substance. I rewrite them yet keep the old ones intact so I can see how I viewed the world  in a different timeline. It is good to keep a history of your work so you can see how far you've come.

Answer 8

I think it depends on the purpose of the poetry.

Is it something the author created simply to express a specific state of mind in a specific moment?  If so, editing it later is probably not necessary, and could even be destructive if the intent is to preserve a snapshot of one's emotional landscape.  I find that's true of my journal, for sure.  I don't really know the woman I was yesterday.  I think leaving this sort of poetry alone shows a certain respect for human complexity.

However, if the poem is to be published, or shared, or if the poet wants to improve upon his/her poetry writing abilities, then I say absolutely, edit, edit, edit.  Nothing worth achieving in life comes without grueling, mundane toil, and I definitely think that includes poetry.  In finding that perfect word, retooling that awkward line, forcing yourself to finish that last stanza, you are chiseling out from the raw rock the poet you were meant to be.

Answer 9

I agree with Todd.  Editing only makes the work better.  I don't necessarily think that you should edit just because your readers aren't getting it because sometimes it's just for you.

Editing is a natural process in any art.  Even practitioners of the fine arts edit their work.

Answer 10

i think it should only be revised if you feel its needed.

like say someone didnt like part of the poem and they

changed it around and it sounded better then

the writer would probably be like oh thats great

and rewrite that part or parts.

or maybe you did it when you were younger and

came across it when you were older and you didnt like

it much so you revised it to make it seem more "mature" or whatever.