I received this note from a woman in my poetry class today. This was her response to the girl in my class (I’ve previously referred to her as the Poetry Nazi) and excessively mean comments about my poetry. According to this girl, a haiku I wrote, “wasn’t a haiku” because it didn’t adhere to typical rules in haiku writing. DEAR LORD. And then today, during another workshop, the Poetry Nazi tore another poem of mine to shreds. DEAR DEAR LORD.
But I don’t care. This letter made all those uncomfortable, infuriating workshops worth it.
Dear Alexa,
HI! I probably should have said this while your poem was actually being workshopped, but I think I eeded time to try to articulate why I love this poem so much. And here it is:
There was a lot of yelling about form, but I think that there is something really cool and beautiful about the way you’ve used one super-strict form and then used language from another, completely opposite, yet still super strict form. They’re totally opposite but also the same in many ways. The whole thing just feels really glamorous somehow, and polished and smart and exotic in a weird esoteric way. I keep reading it and I love it more.
Plus, there’s the ‘stick it to the man’ spirit of it, which is satisfying whenever it appears in reality.
Anyhow, I love it.
P.S. I decided to actually give you this note because for the second time, the scary girl in our class is giving your poem a what-for. You’re awesome.
