[Donna English]

When I first started writing in meter, I found the best way to scan check my stuff was to ask one of my preteen kids or their friends to read it outloud to me. They didn't start into it with a notion of what meter was or what type of meter I was aiming for, they just read it...naturally?? They didn't force anything to suit their own ear. Sounds weird but it worked for me.

Donna

[Mary Ann O'Gorman]

Does anyone have a problem with the Brits' spelling? I think Petra is talking about blatant misspellings.

I tend to have typo's that are not picked up by spellcheck, and I apologize for those. I am trying to proofread more carefully, both here and in my submissions (which have also been riddled with typo's...I am flighty and have too many pets asking for stuff all the time.)

As far as scanning for meter--well, sure, that's why I'm posting. I scan it, think I'm hearing it, read it out loud, wonder if any substitutions are working and worthwhile, and then I post it. And then I am 'schooled,' as they say. I post in the hopes that someone will comment on content, meter, etc. I do not post for praise in my scanning ability.

Spelling issues: I haven't seen many errors, just variants. But I may be suffering from teaching basic learners for so long that I am impervious to spelling errors, or have absorbed common misspellings as correct.

Scanning: I think we are all doing our best.

mary ann

[Jerome Betts]

John, it sounds as if you have the grammar-check 'checked' (or 'ticked').
In Word, go to Tools, then Options and then Spelling and Grammar where you can uncheck the grammar boxes. I found the grammar and style interference (presumably your long sentences problem) maddening (? based on some geek's reading of Strunk and White) until I switched it off. You could also switch off the spell-check, but I find this useful for picking up typos, as my ageing keyboard tends to run words together. The occasional flip back to English (US) is only a minor irritation and easily corrected, via Tools, Language.

Janet, as we're linguistically, culturally and geographically such near neighbours I much prefer (it's mainly visual, after all) the French 'centre' 'metre' etc spellings. It's sometimes useful too to distinguish between e.g. the measuring device and the measurement, as in UK 'meter' 'metre'. So I prefer 'programme', except in the case of 'computer program', a historical nod to the American contribution to software development?

[Michael Cantor]

Good idea, Petra. I think posters should also check syntax and grammar for errors, metaphors to make sure they're well stated and pertinent, messages for clarity, hidden messages for obscurity, and voice for consistency.

In other words, if you take yourself and your poetry seriously, you don't dash something off as quickly as you can type, and post it for critique. Spelling is a small part of this but, yes, it's mechanical and easy to check (within the parameters of trans-oceanic differences.) Everything else - including meter - is judgement.

Let me expand on Petra's request. Don't give your poem a "last-minute scan." Work your poem before you think about posting. Over and over and over. Read it to yourself. Make sure it's as good as you can make it - not "good enough" to wave at the Sphere and start getting comments and help. Far too often I see work posted here that looks like a quickly written draft - the kind of stuff that gets passed back and forth during boring lectures. It's not the spelling or the meter - it's the attitude.

[Marcia Karp]

Easier than Jerome's fix. Set the language in each of your templates to British English, or whatever you like, save the templates. Done.

Or, avoid a one time nuisance for a continuing one: forget the templates and remember to set the language in every document.

PM me if you want details.

Best,
Marcia

[Ann Drysdale]

I get hours of harmless pleasure instructing mine.

It's a jolly little pantomime. A sentence is proposed. The Demon King twirls his moustache and underlines a word - Oh, no it isn't! The Principal Boy slaps his thigh and tosses his curls - Oh, yes it is! And with a flourish he pulls out the magic wossname, touches the secret button and, as the audience squeals with appreciation and delight, adds the rescued word to the Microsoft dictionary. Oestrogen - Theatre - Arse...

Do you think I should get out more...?

[Petra Norr]

Oh, it's more or less what Bob said. Some obvious metrical errors, which aren't so blatant while drafting, could be caught if the poet bothered to question every line once the poem is finished: does each line have the intended number of beats? Furthermore, ís every line metrically clear, or are there ambiguous lines that could screw up the read in a way the poet wouldn't want? Is the poem really metrical at all? Why or why not? If a poet has never learned to scan (in the belief their ear is "perfect" or because they're too lazy or scared), then they could at least take the time to examine every line before posting and ask general questions of the type phrased above. I think there are poets who don't bother to do that, and frankly I don't think it's right to expect critiquers to snap up everything for the poet. Just as the poet should check their own spelling, the poet should check their meter before posting. Maybe they won't find all the errors, and naturally they'll still have some points that are debatable, but chances are they'll catch some things and change them before posting.

[Kevin Greene]

I would agree with most all that's said here, definitely, unless I were e. e. cummings. *wink*



Edit: And, unfortunately, I'm not!

[peter richards]

you poor pissy prigs
maybe this thread should be obligatory reading for all newcomers thinking of posting poems for critique

Du skal ikke tro at du er noget
Du skal ikke tro du er lige så meget som os
Du skal ikke tro du er klogere end os
Du skal ikke bilde dig ind at du er bedre end os
Du skal ikke tro du ved mere end os
Du skal ikke tro du er mere end os
Du skal ikke tro at du duer til noget
Du skal ikke le ad os
Du skal ikke tro at nogen bryder sig om dig
Du skal ikke tro du kan lære os noget

[Petra Norr]

Jantelagen hardly applies in this context. This thread is not meant to threaten newcomers. It's simply a wish that both newcomers and oldcomers would check their meter as well as they can before they post. And personally, I do wish more people would read about metrics and not only rely on their ear when writing. In general I think there's a negative attitude to scansion, and I've never really understood it.