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Your writing should not depend on a picutre

<< Thread Modifed December 2 at 9:39PM >>

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I notice that a lot of people incorporate photos (myself included when it strikes my fancy more often than not usually of classical and historical art), however lately I have noticed that some poems depend upon the photo to make sense.

As writers we should be careful to not depend upon other's work to market our own especially if our own work cannot stand on its own two feet.

I think a picture can complement a work and there is nothing wrong with that, but please do not degrade your writing to that of a caption for someone else's art. (Unless that is what you are purposefully going for)

RE: Your writing should not depend on a picutre

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AMEN! I would argue that the shorter the poem, it becomes all the more essential that it stands on its own merits. Certainly the presence or lack thereof of an image should never be a determining factor in the rating of/voting for a poem. And above all, if one is to use an image, please let it be a _good_ one?

Having said that, one form of poetry I find very interesting is ekphrasis, in which a poem describes an art object (think Keats?s "Ode on a Grecian Urn"), in which it can be helpful to have an image so the reader can see how the poet has sought to capture the artwork?s essence, especially if that art is less well-known.

RE: Your writing should not depend on a picutre

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I would agree with that, or if a particular image is what gave inspiration for the poem. That would make sense to me.

RE: Your writing should not depend on a picutre
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