There is a tightrope poets walk when they are writing personal poetry i.e. poems which tackle specific instances or relationships in their lives. Because the poet is intimate with their subject, often there are references and images in the poem which work solely because they are privy to the other half of the handshake.
So the challenge is this: how do make the poem say what you want it to say and yet still work for the reader who only has the poem to go on i.e. when they don’t have the knowledge of your life, or the person or incident the poem is about?
All too often ‘personal’ poems fail because the reader doesn’t know what they need to know. It’s a bit like trying to solve a crime with half the clues missing.
It’s a common enough complaint. I’m sure all poets are guilty of it from time to time (including myself). But the essence must be that the poem should still work by itself, even if you don’t have the full backstory – or the ‘intent’ of the poet. (In writing groups, when a poet starts to explain their poem to help you ‘get it’ you know the piece has failed to some degree.)
In Degna Stone’s “Proof of Life on Earth” I found myself too often feeling as if I was missing a vital piece of evidence. Which can become very frustrating. Ultimately I rattled through the last few pages looking to find other fault (as if to justify my impatience). A little prosaic too? Possibly…
So not for me – but others will no doubt love it.
Ian Gouge - Writer 