I just responded to Chris Co over a comment he kindly made on a poem I'd blogged.
The poem was called "Greavsie and Me" and is about how we all hate each other at Open Mic.
You know the sort of thing I mean - either you shouldn't be on the stage because you're better than me and I pale in comparison or you shouldn't be on the stage because you're crapper than me and I should have more recognition.
Do I sense this in you? Do you sense this in me? Or are we all mutually-supporting luvvies who are really only interested in hearing the excellent verse of others rather than reluctantly offering our own modest efforts?

John - is this the poet's equivalent of standing at the the edge of the playground shouting Fight! Fight! Fight!?
I think every WOL member I've seen perform poetry has been absolutely fantastic, and I admire anybody who has the guts to get up there and do it - I haven't!
Cx

I can't think of a worst personal pitfall than for a poet to think he/she is better than someone else. The scope of poetry and its diverse audience appeal is so broad that such an attitude is preposterous. Ditto for the reverse. It's all about the purpose of poetry. And the necessity to agree to disagree. Like - this has been an argument forever!

As an open-mic participant,every poet should practise open-mindedness and genuine supportive fellowship. If a performance is really bad for whatever reason, hopefully a little more experience will make the presentation better. Sometimes a bit of sincere advice works wonders, in a chatty, non-aggressive way. This takes some courage.

I think how we feel about and how much respect we have for fellow poets can be affected a lot by the person managing the venue.

If there are too many poets on the night, some effort should be made to get those poets to conform to a time slot. I know that the Tudor has been criticised for this - but if you don't, the audience tires and is less attentive. I like venues where everyone there gets to read - this is only possible if people are capable of give and take.

In every group of poets, you will always get those who are there just to sport their own talent and who listen poorly - though this can be disguised... You get the brilliant, the not so brilliant poetry that can be hard on the ears...

On the whole I would say that the majority of poets are respectful. Treat others as you would be treated yourself and all that...

I'm not suggesting there isn't respect, Izzy, I just think that so much of this is "duplicitous visage" to use the Norman rather than the Saxon. I've witnessed performers feigning applause - you know, seeming to clap but stopping short of striking their hands! - damning with feint physical praise. I've seen stony faces refusing to register any response to a performance.
I've seen a comment on someone's blog saying precisely this and I've thought "how honest for them to say so".
Cynthia, Chris - If no-one is like this then we can't be a very representative sample of individuals in the round, because in any sample there'll nice people, happy smiling people, people you'd want to be with, people you wouldn't etc, ie a right good jumble, including competitive people.
If there aren't competitve poets, then poets aren't representative, so what authority and integrity does the voice of an unrepresentative bunch have?
(Thinks: That should work!)

Are you wishing you'd never opened this can of worms John? You are a really nice guy I am sure! I've never been to an open mic thingy, so I cannot comment. But I can't help but have a little bit of me that feels pissed off if I don't get any comments on here, when I've put a poem on. And just a tiny tiny tiny bit of me gets a bit jealous when someone else's poem gets millions of comments. But only for a millisecond! It's human nature. Some gene or other! And I am totally ashamed! ;-(

Getting no comments at all isn't very nice, especially if the poet has invested a lot emotionally in the poem. But sometimes in life one has to shrug and move on. We all have a little insecure voice inside us which whispers about not being loved, but it just has to be ignored.

I've been on WOL nearly a year now and attended quite a few open mic nights. It seems to me - unless I'm missing something - that there is far more acceptance and encouragement than anything negative. The occasional grumbly rumble, the odd outburst at the worst. But overall, I've found WOL to be a warm and accepting community.

Mind you I've never been to a slam....

I started a discussion thread in Chit Chat about poets and competitive sport. The response suggests that on the whole poets don't participate. For myself, I get rid of a lot of competitiveness there. I also get used to doing badly as statistics show that 50% of the players in table tennis matches lose. You just have to get used to it, and learn to shake the other guy's hand (not his throat) and move on.

What's a slam?

Perhaps someone who's been to one could describe it for us, Ann. But it seems it's a competition in which poets have a strictly timed period (3 minutes typical I gather) to perform in such a way that the judges think they are worthy of getting through to the next round - or even winning if it is the final round. The same poem can't be repeated.

It seems to cause the odd bit of friction from time to time.....

Getting no comments on any given poem is not necessarily a slur on a posting; many of us cannot spend enough time at the computer to cover as much material as we would like. The time of posting is a factor also, to catch 'peak periods' of internet activity. Often I try to surf a backlog, knowing I've missed some entries. Good or indifferent poetry is not the issue. But, in honesty, I do think WOL could have a formal 'ruling' as to the number of poems submitted per week or month. Really good stuff does get buried, make no mistake.

As for competitiveness, I like 'performance' standards, because I think many of us are just plain lazy about preparing for oral presentation.

I think it is really interesting to compare the Open Mic nights with posting on the blog.
At an open Mic night, the compere can set the scene, encourage everyone to applaud everyone's efforts, and it is not difficult to do so, even if you are harbouring feelings of superiority or jealousy. You give a good clap because someone has made th effort to share their work and take the risk of it sounding daft out loud.
On the WOL blog, there may only be three or four people 'present' i terms of being online when you post, and if someone happens to post a dozen poems a minute later, your contribution disappears off the bottom of the page before anyone has noticed it.
The internet is advancing, and I was looking a a virtual 'farmers market' the other day, where you could ramble around the market and listen to stall holders telling you about their wares.
Is it possible to have a virtual Open Mic in some way? Where instead of being restricted to the scrolling list of blogs, you can go onto a page, see a range of poets, and click on each in turn?
I suppose you will say this is the poets showcase. It is not the same.
Also I find writing appreciative comments sounds insincere unless you take time to establish what you like, and why, whereas clapping at an Open Mic is genuine and simple.

I've seen an awful lot of really bad poets who think they are they bee's knees, and an awful lot of really good poets with no cionfidence in themselves whatsoever. I've come to the conclusion that if you think that you're great, you're probably not.

Actually, Freda, I think clapping can be very insincere, simply good manners. Perfunctory clapping should tell a performer something; but some never get the message. It's terrible to carry a 'clapping metre' in your mind to 'judge' who is 'better' than another, by speed or volume, and yet, that is the truth. Like yourself, I always clap, for effort at least, but I often feel myself a hypocrite.

I don't feel an appreciative comment must give reasons for enjoyment. Reasons really become a 'critique', which some readers can't do or won't do by preference.

freda what an interesting idea "the virtual open mic" I have opened a new discussion thread at

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/newsgroupview.php?NewsThreadsID=1012&NewsGroupsID=20

It's sometimes very difficult to know what to put when you want to say you liked something but don't have a particular crticism to make, especially if the poem has already attracted a lot of comments .... all the interesting ways of saying 'this is good' have already been taken!
Cx

I agree. It's the same with discussions when all you want to do is agree.

I think you are all very mysterious.

Lol - thanks Hatta! Personally, I am aiming for mysterious, but I think I only get as far as being an enigma.
Cx

Perhaps there are no other poets, there's only me and you are all figments of my imagination? Or there is a great big huge HAL-like computer somewhere posting all the poems. And I am ALL ALONE! AAAARRRGH!!

Well, no one has replied yet so I guess I am all alone in the universe! And on a bank holiday too!

Yes, you're quite alone. The Bank Holiday is simply your computer loading the next RSS feed. Nothing more. x

Didn't have you down as a solipsist Ann.

Oh god! Where did I put my dictionary! And it's not even 7 a.m. yet!! xx

Does it count if it's just me AND my cat?

Hmmmm. Can you remember making the cat? Not that that is conclusive as God could have a bad memory.

My cat's really offended now! She said she thought it was her that had made me! ;-) (puurrrr)

So help me Hannah, some of you guys have too much time on your hands. Hope you all had a pleasant 'Long Weekend'. Maybe 'long' is the operative word! :) Can hardly wait to look up 'solipsist'; it's new to me.

No easter eggs, that was the problem!