Does any member of Joe Public really want to read a poem about writing a poem? Or are these just for fellow poets?

I don't know... i've written quite a few purely for performance purposes. I don't think you always need to know what it's about... very often a poem like that speaks in a different way to the general public :-)

I find it therapeutic to get the little blighters out my system :-)

One could also ask whether Joe Public wants to read poetry, full stop...

To me, it seems that entertaining performance poetry is a type of poetry that manages to cross borders and introduce non poets to the wonderful world of language - engage them in it even.

I suppose that to read/listen and understand poetry about the agonies of writing poems, it might help if you could identify with those feelings and be a poet yourself. Luckily there are enough of us around to appreciate such poetry and as none of us are making much money out of it, it doesn't matter how wide our readership is.

I have enjoyed many such poems from different eras of 'literature'. But, I write poetry too; so, I'm biased. Therefore, I opt 'for fellow poets. However, it seems such poems frequently elicit extensive commentaries from professional critics. Therefore, as armchair critics, there must also be an attraction for Joe Public too. I still think there is a wide audience for poetry beyond writers.

In Letchworth I am co-ordinating in June a poetry in shop windows project, 30 original poems in the windows for 2 weeks. It will be interesting to note the reaction, though as long as there is a wee connection on an individual basis that will be fine!

As for professional critics, don't really seem them as "the man on the clapham omnibus"-are they not usually professional poets reviewing each other?
Perhaps songwriters are the poets most reviewed by the public-in CD sales! Must be wonderful to write something that connects the shop girl to the deb, the dustbin man to the aristo!
But when they start to write songs about writing songs in hotel rooms-watch those sales slump.....

I think there are critics trained as such, in the 'Art of Criticism'. They do not have to be original thinkers at all, just adept with current key phrases that sound intellectual and seem safely 'beyond challenge' by the common reader. Criticism by one's peers is an excellent thing, stinging maybe, but stimulating, and acceptable from someone working similarly. I realize this has shifted emphasis from the original question of 'poetry about poetry'.

Bit of a funny question this one! Members of the general public maybe wouldn't think too deeply about whether or not it's pc to hear poems written by poets on the agonies involved in writing a poem?
However,I have heard quite a few fellow poets/writer's say they think it's a bit lazy to write about the above.

I've read/heard a few poems in this vein,and some of them are samey it's true,but,if it gets the creative juices flowing again,who's to say it's wrong?

An interesting discussion topic.

Who gives a damn what Joe Public thinks? He doesn't give a damn what I think. And he plays music on his i-Pod on the bus at a level so you can just hear the chrr-chrr of the bloody drum machine. And he never pays for his round. And he probably voted Tory and/or thinks the EDL are just good solid Englishmen. Pah!

Somebody a bit like Socrates said, "A wise man speaks when he has something to say; a fool speaks when he thinks he has to say something". I write poems about poetry when I think I have to say something.

Blinkey blimey!
That's shut things up!

Not at all-just been beavering : )
Writing a poem=not an everyday experience for most folk. Are there not easier/better subjects to connect with the non-poetry reading public?

Gareth, the project in Letchworth about having poems in shop windows sounds really good! Do let us know how it goes. Was it difficult to co-ordinate? How did you find the poets, choose the poems, get the shop keepers interested? I don't quite feel up to starting a WOL in Cornwall where I live (maybe one day!) but this seems like a good way to maybe start getting some interest going. (I'll put this on your profile page in case you miss it.)

personally speakin i dont like poems about poetry and think them self indulgent. especially if they on the subject of not being able to write.

Here is a piece about writer's block
er
er
er
er
er
hmm, coffee,
got none, go to shop?
bin needs emptying, take that on my way out
where are the new bin bags?
should be in this cupboard.
Right, how I am expected to find anything in here,? let's sort it out.
put all the contents on the floor.
Oh, no the floor's too dirty
get the mop
how old is this mop?
make a list of things I need from the shop
pen, paper...?
God, this desk's a mess
Ok, Tidy this room and re-start the writing tomorrow
where's the bin bags
Oh!

Very Drole J......

How brave Julian to post up a poem about writing poems when people are saying that is lazy. Its a good answer. Why do people so quickly jump to criticising what others write in the sense of saying they do wrong? Poetry criticism should be about what it is worthwhile reading a poem for, not why the poet should have written something else.

I was pondering on the meaning of 'self-indulgent' as it seems quite often to pop up on discussions. I came across this question and answer.
Why did robespierre eliminate the hebertists and the indulgents?
He wanted to eliminate the herbertist and the indulgents because strict economic policies and an anti-religious campaign that Robespierre could not support. So the leaders were all killed.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_robespierre_eliminate_the_hebertists_and_the_indulgents#ixzz1I82O90si

I have often been pleasantly surprised to discover that many more people are open to receiving poetry than I at first thought would be the case; and the degree to which they are open to it is not determined by the subject or even by its accessibility! The process of writing poetry is as valid a subject as any other, I believe - though one to which we would not return repeatedly. As far as "who gets it" is concerned, I like to think that synchronicity and serendipity play a great part in the process.

I did write one poem about the glory of sonnet-form, entitled "10-14". It's true, though, that other poets will be more interested in reading/hearing poems about poetry and the process of writing it. But having an audience of poets is no bad thing :o)

Re Julian's 'Er - er - er' poem:

Try doing it to the tune of Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman'. Great fun!

Just looked back on this thread to see Julian's er er er poem. Very good, but I must be the opposite of Julian cos I go off to try and write a poem to AVOID cleaning the floor/tidying the desk/going to the shop etc!

Funny boned: written February 2011
but further-
poetry:
It slips between your legs like
an insistent cat-
and invites a persistent
neighbor
to tap on the kitchen window.
And that is all to the good
of the poet
and
the poem.

Poetry should be about things that you feel passionate about. Why call yourself a poet if you aren't passionate about poetry?
Certainly consider how many of these pieces to publish or perform based on the audiences likelihood to engage, but since the audiences of so many poetry gigs and purchasers of the majority of written works are likely to share your passion, it likely these pieces will resonate.