a fine line The magazine of the New Zealand Poetry Society ISSN 1177-6544 (Print) ISSN 1178-3931 (online) Te Hunga Tito Ruri o Aotearoa September 2016 Feature Article Become a Better Poet: 6 Tips for Starting and Running a Poetry Critique Group New Zealand Poetry Society Te Hunga Tito Ruri o Aotearoa Karen Paul Holmes *First appeared as a blog post for The Exit 271 Studio (http://www.exit271.com), New Zealand Poetry Society August 2016 PO Box 5283 Lambton Quay Wellington 6012 Writers often write in a vacuum. I used to. I broke free from my isolation six Patrons years ago when I started the Side Door Poets. And here’s the thing I discovered: Dame Fiona Kidman, Vincent O’Sullivan since I’ve been part of this trusted group of peers who critique my work and encourage me, I’m a better poet. Acting President Laurice Gilbert Here are some well-tested tips on starting your own critique group, based on my experience: email:
[email protected] Find a venue: We meet at a community room in my condo complex, centrally www.poetrysociety.org.nz located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (a city of five million). The room is free, and I can reserve it. Before this, we met at a library, which often have free meeting FACEBOOK: NewZealandPoetrySociety rooms that can be reserved (check their websites or call). TWITTER: @NZPS When we began with three people, we would meet at a restaurant, but it was noisy, there was no guarantee we could get a table and, once our group grew, it became impractical.