Chapter 13.The Relationship Between Poets and Poetry Critics
Section One: High-Quality Modern Poetry and Scholarly Criticism Complement Each Other
The relationship between poets and poetry critics is like that between a fine steed and Bole. When a poet’s outstanding work is decoded by a poetry critic with specialized scholarly expertise, the result often adds value to the work. On the one hand, readers participate more deeply in the reading experience through the critic’s interpretation and commentary, thereby broadening and deepening their understanding of the poem and gaining a richer reading experience. On the other hand, the poet’s reputation and recognition among readers are enhanced.
From reading poetry anthologies published in the United States and various European countries, the author has observed that beneath every poem there is commentary and interpretation provided by one or more poetry critics. In other words, the duty of a poetry critic is to recommend literary works and guide readers in their appreciation. Put simply, the critics task is to select outstanding works and endorse them. Many anthologies of modern Chinese poetry, however, lack such a mechanism that presents poems together with critical commentary. Even when an introductory essay by the editor is included, it is often merely perfunctory, leaving readers with the impression that the editor simply "selects the poems and then abandons them." In reality, besides explaining the anthology’s aesthetic principles and selection criteria in the preface, the editor should also interpret and critically evaluate every selected poem. Yet this important responsibility has long been neglected. The fundamental reason is that many editors themselves lack both the theoretical foundation for textual interpretation and the methodology required for critical analysis. In other words, they attempt a task they are not equipped to accomplish, causing the anthology to deteriorate into nothing more than a personal list of favored works. Such an approach is clearly irresponsible.
Section Two: Characteristics of Counterfeit Poetry Criticism
These shortcomings are not confined to poetry anthologies. Poetry criticism throughout the Chinese-speaking world is likewise characterized by a disregard for scholarly theory, with every critic displaying his or her own tricks. On the surface, it appears to be a flourishing scene in which a hundred schools of thought contend, but in reality it is merely amateurs masquerading as professionals, each bluffing and misleading the audience in different ways. From the authors observations, these forms of counterfeit poetry criticism exhibit the following four characteristics:
1. Avoiding the Main Issues and Skirting Around the Edges
As the Qing Dynasty writer Zheng Banqiao once said:
"What good is praise if it cannot scratch the itch? Even criticism is admirable if it cuts to the heart of the matter."
Such critics neither analyze the expressive techniques employed in the poem nor summarize its aesthetic characteristics. Instead, they avoid the central issues, skirt around the edges, and merely deceive inexperienced readers. Their criticism never reaches the core of the work; it lacks focus and fails to address any concrete issues.
2. Rambling Aimlessly and Diverting the Focus
A critic ought to concentrate on discussing the literary text itself. Instead, many wander into lengthy accounts of the authors biography or their personal friendship with the author, deliberately shifting attention away from the poem. They transform textual criticism into social flattery, even though readers have no need to be distracted by such irrelevant background information.
3. Speaking Vaguely While Offering Empty Praise
A critic should possess both scholarship and integrity, evaluating the work itself without being influenced by personal relationships. Yet many critics write reviews not to help readers identify works of genuine aesthetic value, but either to speak only half the truth while deliberately avoiding discussion of the works shortcomings, or to lavish exaggerated praise upon both the poem and its author, shamelessly flattering and currying favor. Such criticism displays neither literary dignity nor personal integrity.
4. Misusing Western Theories to Impress Others
Many younger academic poetry critics have encountered certain Western methodologies of literary criticism and attempt to cite them extensively in order to display their learning. However, without fully understanding either the purpose or practical function of these critical methodologies, they apply them indiscriminately. Rather than helping readers interpret the poems lines and structure, such misuse only makes the analysis increasingly obscure and off-topic, leaving readers with the impression that the critic is merely flaunting Western scholarship to enhance personal prestige.
For example, whenever interpreting a female poets work, they feel compelled to invoke feminism. Whenever discussing poetry written during Taiwans Japanese colonial period or the White Terror era, they insist on introducing postcolonial discourse to make the discussion appear deeper and broader. Whenever confronted with an intentionally obscure poem whose context is incoherent and fragmented, they immediately label it as postmodernism. Yet in their actual textual analysis they completely ignore the essential analytical tools of rhetoric, grammar, aesthetics, narratology, and textual structure. Is this not a classic example of neglecting the fundamentals while chasing after superficial sophistication, deliberately misleading readers?
The culture of the Chinese-speaking world has traditionally emphasized personal relationships and private loyalties. Unfortunately, this cultural tendency hinders the research and development of literary criticism. Poetry critics are members of the larger family of literary critics; they should not degenerate into sycophants whose sole purpose is to flatter authors and cosmetically embellish their works. A modern poetry critic must establish a solid professional foundation by studying and mastering the essential theoretical tools of poetics and literary criticism—rhetoric, grammar, aesthetics, narratology, and textual structure—accurately understanding how these methodologies operate and applying them flexibly to the analysis of poetic texts. If one refuses to do so, yet shamelessly claims the title of poetry critic while wandering everywhere diagnosing poets and poems, then one truly deserves to be called a "Wang Lu-zai Immortal"—a charlatan masquerading as an expert.
Such counterfeit "Wang Lu-zai Immortals" have long thrived within the modern Chinese poetry community, enjoying popularity and influence among many poets. It is therefore no surprise that the world of modern Chinese poetry has long been permeated by an atmosphere of mutual flattery and empty praise—an unhealthy literary climate that discerning readers can scarcely admire.
