Poetry Tips: How do your poems rate?

One of the hardest things to do is to grade your own poems after you’ve finished. You don’t have to be in school to realize the value of your work.
The way I often grade myself is by using the following:
1 = Poor, 2 = Fair 3= Average 4= Good 5= Excellent

These are the questions I use to grade my own poetry on the 1 – 5 scale:
Does the poem make sense to the intended audience?
Does the title make sense in relation to the poem?
Is the poem the appropriate length for the content?
Is this poem unique to your voice/style?
Is the subject matter presented in a unique way?
Is the subject trite?
Would you publish this if it were your journal/book to edit?

I don’t use this scale on every poem. Sometimes poems are written just to be written. But I highly recommend grading yourself on poems you wish to submit for publication and you can always create your own grading criteria, after all, you know you best.

Good luck with writing, please stop by tomorrow for another poetry blog…