Poetry Help

[Vespertilio91]

Okay, for all the poets out there, I have a question. Do you write poetry that you end up cutting out most of it in the end. I wrote a sixty-four line poem, and it turned into a twelve line poem at the end. I don't know if I should cut all this, but I'm always revising them. Even when I type them into here for a post, I edit words, add parts, and cut off others. Do you think I should keep the parts that I've cut in seperate documents so that I might use them later on, or do you think that if they don't fit, I should toss them out.

Other times, I can't think of new ideas. I just revisit old ones. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[Stewart]

Nothing wrong with revisiting old ideas. Every poem can be a different slant on the idea.

As for the cutting of the poetry. Is it better for it?

 

[Vespertilio91]

As for the cutting of the poetry. Is it better for it?

That's mostly what I'm asking.

 

[Fieldy]

Could always try the Kerouac appraoch.

First thought = best thought .... keep it all

 

[novella]

Actually, Kerouac edited and revised his work a lot. That he 'just wrote' is a myth, though when he edited his work, he tried very hard to capture that 'just written on the fly' feeling.

Most firsts drafts of poems need substantial revising and can be improved greatly. But at least one great living poet, John Ashbery, does not revise his work at all. He's a first-draft man.