(October 6, 2021 at 4:43 pm)Brian37 Wrote: It is so tiring to hear "You suck" and "I don't like you". Everyone gets that on all sides.
Some more than others. It's important to listen to what people say about your work and use that to become better. Ignoring feedback is flying blind.
I took a poetry workshop with (name drop alert) Carolyn Forche. It was intimidating. There was another student named Stephen M. Vernarelli. He sucked. He was egotistical and dismissive of criticism. It became painful working through his submissions. However, he made me feel better about my work. At least I didn't suck, and I could use what others told me, especially the brilliant poet who had to read our crap, to improve.
Holy shit. I just googled Vernarelli. He wrote an IMDb bio for himself. Still cringeworthy after all these years.
