I like:
Poets who invent new, exciting words, just so long as I have some idea of what is meant through the context in which they are used.
I dislike:
Pernickety people who say, "There's no such word!"
I like:
People who admit they don't know much about poetry, but they have an open mind, and are willing to see if they can get something from it.
I dislike:
People who just declare they don't like poetry, even though they've never bothered to try it.
I can live with:
People who are indifferent but who don't make judgements are okay. That's their choice and they have every right to make that choice. It's just the noisy detractors I cannot stand.
I like:
People who are open to trying different forms, and don't make certain kinds of poetry "wrong".
I dislike:
People who insist they hate rhyming poetry or contemporary blank verse, or prose poetry, or humorous verse. There's room for everything, and one kind of voice doesn't prevail over all others.
I like:
Poets who are original and who write from their own experience.
I dislike:
Pretend-poets who steal other people's ideas, change a few words around, (just enough to avoid a charge of plagiarism) and present it as their own.
I especially dislike:
Two poets who have played that trick on me!
