Why Bother to Review Live Poetry?
It's a common thing - an automatic right in some circles - for books of poetry to be reviewed. Likewise most novels, films, plays, stage shows, even the occasional fringe poetry event at a major festival which makes it into the review pages of some print or online publication. But how often do you spot a review of a traditional poetry reading or performance event or Slam competition or even an Open Mic poetry night? Not very often, let's face it, especially outside the organisations that have actually put them on in the first place.
Why is that? I don't believe it's simply because people are not interested in reading or hearing about live poetry. Rather, I think it's down to a variety of factors, the most important being tradition. Traditionally, live poetry does not get reviewed. But all that is about to change ...
How To Post a Review
If you've been to a live poetry event recently, whether it's a big name reading or a local open mic in a pub, submit your reviews here or leave a comment. For reviews, open a New Topic and post up your text (and photos, if you took them yourself or have permission to use them), then submit the post as usual.
There will be a slight delay, as all New Topics in this Reviews forum will have to come through me, as the administrator and editor. But as soon as a post has been submitted, I'll be notified and you should see your review or comment appear within 24 hours - usually far less!
Accurate and Careful Reporting
One of the main reasons reviews need to come through me first is to ensure accuracy and to check for offensive or explicit content. To speed up this process, please double-check that all names are spelt correctly, both the names of performers and of venues and their addresses. Be aware that the poet or poets under review may actually read this review, and be sensitive to that situation. For instance, don't make libellous comments ('She was so bad, she must have slept with the MC to get a slot') but fair comment is okay in most cases ('I thought the act was tasteless and I could hardly hear him').
When in doubt, either stress that it's your personal opinion or just be vague about why you disliked a performance ('I felt bored and won't be going to see him again'). Better still, if you're not used to writing reviews, try to review only those events you really enjoyed and can be positive about, at least for the first few times. Once you're comfortable with the process, you can become more ambitious in your analysis of a performance and perhaps even stretch to a little constructive criticism ('I only found out about this event when a friend told me; I think the organisers need to advertise more widely').
As with most things, it's usually the tone of a review - rather than the words themselves - that offends people. So be sensible.
Write your Review Now!
But please don't let any of this put you off submitting reviews. Your opinions are precisely what we need to hear. Otherwise they might as well be reviews written by robots or members of the WI. Don't worry too much about content, I will be checking each one through before it's posted up, and if you need to query something in a review you're writing or thinking of writing, just PM me. Equally, if your review doesn't appear within 24 hours, send me a Personal Message and I will sort it out.