Is the talent (if any) of some so-called poets disproportionate to their egos? ?

Question

Someone posts a poem asking for critique or comment. You give it and suddenly you're public enemy #1. Going by what they've written they should be thankful to get any response at all a lot of the time. Would you agree?

Answer 1

Sher, I agree with you. This is the second time tonight that he posted the same question. I guess he didn`t like the answers to the first one.

No, That would be you.

Answer 2

I disagree with the first answerer. It is not best to say nothing, how will a writer ever grow if they are never given honest critique? It is the RUDE comments, the comments that attack me as a person or the comments that offer no constructive critique, just harsh words, that upset me. There are better ways of saying "this is c**p" without actually saying it like that. If it is bad, tell me why it is bad...how will I learn if I do not know what I am doing wrong? I like to encourage other writers because I would hate to think that my words could stop someone from ever picking up the pen again and trying harder.

Answer 3

I think I would just be happy with being #1 at something.

I'd have to see the poem in question and learn more about the poet as well as the critique given to formulate a more appropriate answer.

Answer 4

Totally. There is some talent here, but if you actually criticize, they come down hard on you. Best to say nothing.  

Answer 5

This is a fascinating question and is intricately interlocked with other issues you have raised of late.  You see, our sense of self is dependent, in part, on the way others perceive us and react to us.  You know that; everyone realizes that!  Just imagine if you were praised for things that, in the great scheme of things, were not very praiseworthy. You would develop a self esteem that was disproportionate to your accomplishments.  These are the people that others deem conceited, and that are the butt of jokes (if not overtly) in most conventional social settings.  I've always felt it was better to be honest with other people, not in a deliberately hurtful or vengeful way (unless I am first provoked), but rather in a way that promotes cognitive dissonance and self recognition.  When I came to Y!A Poetry, I quickly realized that the site was poisoned -- with phony, saccharine pandering.  There was a well-established hierarchy.  I began to hatch a scheme -- why not post a few poems, not my best but my rejects, and play nice to see the reaction I would receive.  People slobbered over me.  I received some constructive criticisms for my "efforts" and decided to cultivate those people as contacts.  Not incidentally, they are also the talented poets on this site.  When I decided that I would adopt a different posture towards the hierarchy on the site, and that I would burst their bubbles, I immediately became an outsider.  I used the ongoing feud to test my theories about human behavior, and I have not been disappointed, at least as regards my mathematical model.  You see, you have all been part of a vast experiment, an experiment in socialization, an experiment in aesthetic sensibility, an experiment in human psychology.  There is no pass or fail.  In the process, I have made a few friends, and that is a happy bonus.  Any positive comments I made to them were genuine; as for the rest of you, oh well...so thank you for all being my experimental subjects, my guinea pigs.  Humans, they never cease to disappoint me.  This has been a most instructive visit, and you have told me all we will need to know.