Back in April 2009, I was critical of a poet out of Michigan who goes by the name of The Future (or something like that). My basic critique was that dude had a way of performing that was formulaic: Taalam Acey plus rapper minus the originality. I also mentioned that he loved his look and mentioned it in his performance. Other than his vanity and familiar performance, dude had some clever lines and could move the crowd. After I posted my review of his performance on my website and he found out about it, an internet beef erupted with his supporters blasting me on my Myspace page (amazingly) and my website. He and his followers tried to friend me on FaceBook in attempt to hit up my wall. Lesson? Public criticism invites retaliation and, apparently, attention. I think back on that time and wonder why didn’t I just accept his FB friendship? I don't know if we would have been cool but I would have reiterated my points in a more accessible manner for him.
Poets, I am an artist and a critic. I will perform a poem, criticize my performance, and watch the next poet perform. If I’m critical of my performance, then know that I will have some thoughts about another person’s. In that spirit, I offer my service to spoken word poetry. I offer criticism for the refinement of stanzas and improvement of performance. Since the goal is excellence for some poets, then take my comments in consideration toward that end. That’s what my posts on Wadded Paper will be about; review of performances and written work. Any humor I use will be to make my prose readable. If someone takes offense at my comments, then friend me on FB and blast me on my wall or we can go at it on Twitter. Just remember, I only give a fuck about the art, not somebody’s feelings.
Poets, if you are interested in having your work reviewed then get at me on Twitter, @afroscribe. Otherwise, we will pick public works that we want to single out for praise or as a cautionary tale for where poetry goes wrong. Consider this unsolicited feedback.
