I have been a member of WOL for a couple of years or so now and regularly see references by fellow members to their sometimes expansive knowledge of other poets, acclaimed and otherwise.

Similarly, in their comments/critique of others work they often quote technical terms relating to the construction of poems etc.

I now have to admit that I am sorely undereducated in both of these abilities. So much so that I often have to look up the terms mentioned. I have never studied poetry or creative writing so many of these terms mean nothing to me.

This has made me wonder whether it is a disadvantage to me (not having an encyclopedic knowledge of the greats) when writing, or otherwise a benefit by not being influenced by anyone's style.

Would anyone care to comment?

Graham, I am similar to you that I have never studied poetry and so my knowledge isn't as good as others. Personally I look at it as an advantage as like you said we aren't influenced by others work. But I would like to gain more knowledge

I have to say that I think it helps to read poetry as much as you can - from all ages and as far as possible all types and from as many cultures as you can manage.

Haunt the poetry sections of as many second hand bookshops as you can.

A helpful, relatively easy read is Reading Poetry by Peter Barry, which actually has a list of some of the terms at the back. That book is not about writing poetry but about reading it, and being able to see a little deeper into the poem than the surface where that is appropriate. It even has a good section looking at approaches to 'visual' and 'concrete' poetry.

You can write perfectly reasonable poetry without a great deal of knowledge; but you might find yourself writing roughly similar looking things saying roughly similar things all the time. Reading poetry that is nothing like your own sometimes gives you ideas you never thought of.

If it becomes a chore, though, it gets to seem too much like a job; so if that is the case, go and read something you enjoy. See it as an exploration not a duty.

I think I agree almost word for word with Steven. Reading widely and voraciously will probably help you to improve your writing. I don't think that you need to attain an advanced technical knowledge, I think it's more a case of getting a 'feel' of different kinds of poetry and getting inspiration from that. It can also be a really good thing to be influenced by other work.

The more tools you have in your box, the better the product you seek to create.
SW is right about the opportunity that exists
finding volumes of poetry in used book stores
and many can be had for very little outlay.
The online sites that exist also offer the
chance to increase knowledge/awareness of what
has been/is being written.
Technical know-how need not always be taught.
It can be learnt to a large degree in the process of reading. In fact, it could be
argued that there is the risk that too much concentration on the "how" of writing can
blunt the "why" of the imagination.
That said, correct spelling and punctuation are
taken for granted.