Help Needed: Brokering a Truce

A week ago, I offered to help broker a peace accord between three writers whose feud had spilled over its bounds into other pages. The poisoned ink has been spreading. Many writers have left over it. Today, I heard back form the third, who is finally willing. Q, J, and F; you know who you are. I will not say who was first second or third. I honestly have no idea how this happened. I was not paying attention.

 

I count myself fortunate to be friends with all three. All three are warm, caring individuals, and are talented writers. Today, I can only reach one. All three have helped many others, all three are flawed (as we all are), all three deserve a chance to put this behind them.

 

I want to give them that chance. Everyone deserves a clean slate. This site deserves to be a place again where writers feel safe expressing their words.

 

The terms of the truce are simple enough- I am not asking for teary reconciliation and the creation of bosom buddies. All three have closed, or are in the process of closing, their accounts. I have no way to reach any of them without help form people who know them better than I do.

 

Here are the terms of peace for the three writers involved:

 

1. For one month, do not write a single public word about each other, either here or on Facebook. What you say to trusted friends in private messages is your own business. But in PUBLIC: in writing, reviews, comments, public messages... not a word about each other.

 

2. Consider taking down works that were written to attack one or more of the other three.

 

3. Consider accepting apologies that have been offered; consider making some of your own.

 

4. Do whatever you need to do in order to move forward, block, write about your OWN feelings etc. Just no words of accusations for 31 days. No words against the other 3.

 

I want to take this one step further. I almost closed my account a month ago over different reasons. I stayed because of kind words shared by a few, and I am glad I did, for so many reasons. I believe in the power of community.

 

Many of you know one or more of the writers involved in this struggle. You have seen the hateful words, the accusations posted. They hurt many of us as much as they did their recipients. I want to ask you, as part of the community, to repair some of the damage. Is one or more of these individuals a friend? Use this space here, on my public post, to write something constructive about any one or all three of the people involved. Thank them for something. Tell them what they mean to you here. I warn you, any disparaging remarks against them will be deleted from this post, and flagged.

 

Like I said, this is the only way I have to get in touch with them. Maybe they will see your words, and agree to give this place another try, in such a manner that permits all to move forward. maybe we can finally beat this thing, using the power of community to help see the bigger picture, move past, and forgive. Maybe.

Reviews

[Bare Trees]

I know the writers of which you speak. I think this is a thoughtful write on your part, although IMHO, the damage has been done. There are some writers that will never come back here now, maybe even the writers which you refer to. I've lost some friends here and its a shame. Writers who weren't even a part of the bickering have left. I think your attempt here is a valid one, but I don't see it mending what has been done.

[Marie Anzalone]

Nothing can fully mend nastiness that has been going on for years, and this minor skirmish has become a distraction to much larger issues. I appreciate your honesty, even if it is cynical. I do not classify myself as any particular religion, but I do believe in the healing powers of acknowledgment, redemption, and forgiveness. Humans will always have conflicts and disagreements. There are much larger issues of misogyny and favoritism under the surface here, and they were only touched upon in this fight.

We have all sat back and watched this happen, we have watched people leave the site and become disillusioned. No-one has done anything. Maybe my approach is not the correct one, who knows? But at least I am not sitting back and doing nothing any more. Let me ask you a very serious question:

When there is a piece that makes fun of someone, people jump all over it. When there is a piece that is nasty to someone, people jump all over it. There is a group of writers here that are willing to go to town giving nasty reviews and rating simply because they are told to. Here is a post asking for people to show kindness and forgiveness, asking for writers to surround three hurting people with kindness that they so desperately need... and only three people have stepped up to the plate. Why is that????? Why did you respond with skepticism instead of the kindness I have asked for? I have a good reason for what I ask for, a reason based on my own understanding of what it takes to drop animosities and accept being a better person. So why is it not happening?

Like I said... at least I am trying to do something. Maybe not perfect, but trying to do something.

[Bare Trees]

You may have taken my review the wrong way. I didn't mean for it to come off as cynical. In fact, you sound a bit cynical yourself, as though your attitude has changed as a result of someone interfering with your intent. I can assure you I did not write my review as a means to bring up bad feelings or to get anyone angry. I can see you took a long time to carefully write your reply and I appreciate that. If my review does comes off as being derogatory I apologize. I was only saying how I feel about the situation. I'll say no more. If you wish to delete my review, you may.

[Marie Anzalone]

Thank you for the clarification. One thing we are trained in... it can be very hard to discern tone without the facial cues and body language that real interaction gives. I am just as leery and gun shy and everyone else right now. I apologize if my stance was a little too forceful. I did misinterpret your tone. No, I will not delete your review. Only things that are derogatory will be deleted. Honesty will not be.

It is nice to have made your acquaintance today, even if under dubious circumstances.

[Bare Trees]

No problem, Likewise.

[Marie Anzalone]

Your words echo in my mind, like a memory. Have we met before?

[Larry Dyson]

just a little reflection here ..for the ones who say "never"....this is not the first time this type of thing has happened in WC..and many do test the waters and return..ty for your caring and efforts..(((safe huggs)))Laury

[Bare Trees]

I've heard that a bunch of times. One guy thought I was a girl he knew. lol

[Marie Anzalone]

Nice deflection :-)

[Bare Trees]

I'm actually an FBI agent. Some vowels and a certain number of verbs have been stolen from the site and I've been sent here to investigate being you've made the number one spot with this writing. I may need to check your pockets.

[Marie Anzalone]

Be careful how you frisk lest some other writers get jealous, then. Oh wow I needed that laugh!

[Bare Trees]

You may need to take your socks off as well. Cavity searches will be restricted to your mouth however. Please brush and floss first. A thorough examination of your tongue may be needed.

[Bare Trees]

As I understand it, the top writer section has been reported missing. I may need to check your bags as well.

[Marie Anzalone]

my socks? what do my socks have to do with anything?

[Bare Trees]

The space between toes ha been known as a good place to hide quotation marks.

[Marie Anzalone]

aphrodisiac of the gods, too... there's a reason I stole them... good money on the thriving black market for illustrious prose

[Bare Trees]

Anything you say can be held against you in a court of english.

[Marie Anzalone]

tal vez entonces es buena cosa que yo hablo dos idiomas, verdad?

[Bare Trees]

That's the part the woman says in spanish when you call Time Warner Cable. Nice try mamm.

[Commanda Panda]

I've done a full body cavity search and waved my rod at her to see if she had any weapons on her. She's clean...for now. ;)

[Marie Anzalone]

you two are too much... thank you for the much-needed levity. Blip, I assure you that the Spanish is not copied form anywhere. Panda, I assure you that nothing I stole from anyone on this site is illegal, immoral, or unethical. You might be disappointed. ;-)

[Commanda Panda]

Disappointed with you? I doubt it.

[Marie Anzalone]

Laughter is great medicine. If all body cavity searches were performed by folks as fun as you, flying would be a lot more enjoyable. I might even start carrying contraband grammar in unusual places.

[Commanda Panda]

Then I would have to escort you into the back room and give you a more thorough search. :)

[Marie Anzalone]

Every woman needs a good linguist in her life. Being accosted by grammar police never sounded so... interesting.

[Commanda Panda]

Well, sometimes you have the crooked "grammar police" who are just looking to make their jobs more fun. Should it become contagious that wouldn't be my fault, now would it?

[Marie Anzalone]

where can one consign crooked grammar police? my love life needs a bit of a jump start. ok, more like a resurrection and exorcism.

[Commanda Panda]

Just talk to me and I'll take care of everything.

[Raven]

How sad that the war between China and Philippines became again the concern of America.
Is it simply because the latter wanted peace or is it because simply she can get benefit from the conflict.

Okay I think I know, intervening with the affair of others can easily put you on the top. Wow, Nice work!

[Princeps Angelus Mors]

I seriously doubt a raven from Winterfell would carry such a message. Unless, that is, 'twas Littlefinger who sent you. How's Reek faring by the way? I hear Ramsay Snow is a tough nut to crack.

[Marie Anzalone]

Yep, that's right, you guessed my real motive, how clever of you. It's working well, too. In the past week, I have written several works. Since I posted this piece, I have earned about 3 reviews on other works. Seems to be working incredibly well for me. At this rate, using the same strategy, I should be in negative review number territory by Christmas.

[Ken Simm.]

I have thought long and hard over what I should say here. I find I can only reiterate what many have said before. Art is not a competition. True art should not be negative. Friends are good and should be saved against the heart. Communities can be worthwhile but only if all work together to make it so.
Consideration for others is essential. The centre of the universe is too crowded with all that think they are there.
'Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself — only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.'
George Gurdjieff

[Ken Simm.]

And well done Marie.

[Marie Anzalone]

beautiful quote, Ken, and thank you for stopping by. Missed you while you were in the hills. I appreciate the kind words, too- coming from you, they mean a lot. Gracious night to you, my friend.

[annie lee]

These sound like sane words to me. This is not a competition. We should try to encourage the talent we see, and give a little uplift to those who may have a long way to go. If anybody here ever gets the privilege of an editor perusing their works, they will experience the stark reality of comments that cut to the bone (for their own good, of course) , and a vigorous round with the grammar police. HERE, our advice, comments, etc. should be gentle; they should be delivered in same tone we wish to read in the comments coming our way. I am completely unaware (blissfully) of the details and subjects of this conflict, but I am saddened that people would leave the site.

[Marie Anzalone]

I too, have a link I would like to share with everyone. It is Shane Koyczan's spoken word piece that he developed as a response to being bullied. As someone who was bullied unmercifully for most of my life, as someone who almost lost the fight to suicide when I was younger, due to social isolation; these words ring truth for me. I encourage you to take a few minutes to listen Shane's powerful words this afternoon. He speaks truth, if you cannot see how beautiful you are in the mirror, you need a better mirror.

http://www.ted.com/talks/shane_koyczan_to_this_day_for_the_bullied_and_beautiful.html

[LJW]

Children bully other children.

Adults play twisted mind games.

Don't get it twisted, my friend. :-)

[Marie Anzalone]

I tend to corrupt everyone around me, no worries. In all seriousness, when I do not have the words, I rely on those with better ones than I have. I thought this video was very powerful and beautiful; I wanted to share something that says it better than I could. :-)

[LJW]

When we meet in person, I don't know whether I'm gonna shake you real hard or hug you real hard.

[Marie Anzalone]

I think we will probably do a little of both, for each other. :-)
you're wonderful, you know that?

[ba_mcfarlane]

Wow, I'm glad I missed all this stuff. It pays to be a tad misanthropic some days. I do fess up to blocking a couple of folks who seemed intent on picking a fight. This is the Internet, people can be whoever and whatever they want out here, with little consequence. To expect anything better would be naive.
And I hated Drama class in HS.

[Marie Anzalone]

thank you, we are trying to reduce drama. blessings

[Jack...]

I feel it is time that I said something on this post and the first thing I would like to say is, thank you to Marie for stepping in and trying to create a peaceful resolution to this mess.

I do realize that whatever I say from this point on will stand the chance of being twisted and used against me, but that is something I suppose I will have to deal with.

When I came to this site I did not come here to make enemies, I really didn’t come here to make friends, I came here to write poetry and learn from others, which I have. In the process however I did make some very good friends and unfortunately I also made some enemies. But still I did manage to better myself as a poet, or at least in my eyes I did. I read a lot of good poetry and reviewed a lot of good poetry, but I also read a lot of poetry that I did not care for. In the event of reading a poem I did not care for I just did not review it. I don’t profess to know everything and I know very little for that fact, but I do know that just because I do not like something does not make it wrong or bad. I am not in the habit of discouraging people so if it didn’t appeal to me; I felt it better if I said nothing at all. At times I have read poetry that I enjoyed but found some minor errors, misspellings, etc. In those cases I would review the poem on its merits and then send a PM to the poet explaining the errors I saw and in most cases I was thanked for doing so. I would never point out this kind of thing in a review because I do not think that is the right way to do it. I am not saying it is the wrong way to do it, just to me I prefer to let the poet know in private.


I write poetry because I like writing poetry. Do I have aspirations of becoming a famous published poet? No I do not, I am not that good and probably too old at this point in my life to think about becoming someone famous for anything. But I still write poetry and I write a lot of it. I will agree with one person that indeed it is a popularity thing on this site more than it is completely totally honest critiques of peoples work, but who doesn’t like to be popular? Who doesn’t like people to say nice things about what they do? Why else would anyone join a poetry writing site if not to hopefully post poetry that others like? We all know how this works, it is not rocket science.



Unfortunately, when you do bring a large group of people together, mostly strangers, opinions will differ and disagreements will form. I watched two poets just the other day who I highly respect go at each other over one reviewing the others poem and pointing out a few things that they felt could have made it better. The argument became extremely heated and I will be honest, it was not something I would have ever expected out of these two, but it happened. We are only human, we are all different. One took offense to what the other said about the poem. In my opinion, what was said would be considered constructive criticism but I was not on the receiving end so who knows how I would have reacted. I have had some people just trash my poetry at times and I will usually thank them for reading. To be honest, inside I’m sure I wanted to say more, but hey, if they don’t like my poetry, what good will come from arguing with them? The reason I point that out is to reiterate the fact that we are all different and we do not always see eye to eye on everything.



As far as this “mess” that Marie is trying to bring peace to, I will not go into details, we all have our own opinions of what has happened here. It is a case of he said, she said, he said. (I being the third he). You don’t need a score card to know the players because this seems to be headline news on this site. Each “side” has there own opinion on what happened and that is the way it goes. It all depends on who you have decided to listen to. However, only a few, a very few actually know all of the ins and outs of this thing. For my “side” of this all I can tell you is I am very dedicated to people I consider friends and until the time that they give me cause to think otherwise, I remain dedicated. This entire “mess” could have been ended months ago…yes, I believe this has been going on since April. It could have ended and been forgotten about by now, but it wasn’t. I will admit, I wasn’t a choir boy during these months, I did my share of slinging trash and that kind of thing, but I can tell you the vicious attacks returned to me were far worse than anything I had done. (In my opinion). But honestly, this is not about me, I have just been branded the third side of this imaginary triangle and due to the accusations and rumors that have been circulated about my friend, I remain that third side. This was not a case of “I don’t like you” “I don’t like you either”, this was a case of filthy name calling and horrific accusations made against my friend. Some of the language used against her, I would not use with even my worst enemy. I can say, and I am sure some will disagree, but throughout this “mess” I have not resorted to foul language, lies or any type of gang warfare. I came to the defense of my friend, which based on the many of you who have me blocked, have done the same things. That is what friendship is. I was friends with both players in this “mess’ and would still be if not attacked, repeatedly, by one of them. I have written a poem or two directly related to this “mess”, I will admit that. I am a poet, (sic) and poetry is my tool or I guess in this case, my weapon. But, all of the poetry I am accused of writing as an attack against one is not the case. I have recently circulated 3 poems I wrote titled Violated, Bitter and Rage. Any of these poems can be viewed as an attack on this person and I am sure some saw them and thought exactly that, but if you looked close enough you would see that these poems were posted to WC in December, January and February, well before this “mess” began and well before I knew either of the other two people in this imaginary triangle. I did this to show that, this is how I write. The very first poem I was accused of writing as an attack piece was a poem titled “Slice’. And yes that is exactly why I wrote it, but it was written more about how I was feeling at the time and not about how the other was feeling. Like I said, I was friends with both and one, in my opinion, “stabbed me in the back” and that was my reaction. Will I apologize for that, of course I will. Will I apologize for feeling the way I did, no I won’t.



Now it seems we have come to the apology part of this comment…Will I apologize for doing things that are truly out of character for me? Yes I will, I apologize to all parties involved and anyone else I have affected with my behavior. Will I apologize for standing with my friend and trying to act as a shield while she was viciously attacked, no I will not. Sorry people, but that is how I am wired. I cherish my friends, regardless of who they are, where they live, what color their skin might be and even their religious or political beliefs. Have I chosen bad or wrong people to consider friends in the past? Of course I have and I am sure it will happen again. We learn from mistakes, at least I do. But once someone turns on me, hey maybe I deserve it, but once that happens the friendship ends. Do I offer second chances? Of course I do if I feel the second chance is deserved. But you know what they say, if you pet a dog once and he bites you, the second time he bites you is your fault and the third time proves you are stupid. So what happens next, do you kick the dog or just walk away? The reasonable answer is to walk away, but if the dog chases you and you can’t outrun it, hell yes you kick. You do what you can to protect yourself.



I would like to address one personal point here. I am sure everyone knows my account is closed and we all know what it says if you go to it. That too is how I felt, I was being attacked by so many people and blocked by even more and my feeling was, he did a better sales job than I did on his side of this “mess”. “A better snake oil salesman”, that is the term I used, but I did not use profane language and insinuate that this person was deficient in the area of sex or call him names that are slang terms for female body parts. I said he was not unlike some politicians who have an agenda to sell and do better than others. But the point I would like to address is, I have been accused of opening my account to sling trash and then closing it again to not face the repercussions. Just so all of you know, when you “close” your account, you can still do everything on WC that you have always done with the exception of viewing the live feed. Do you see me here under writers’ online, yes you do. I still write poetry, I still read poetry and I still review poetry. I keep in contact with some friends and this is my right to do so. Do I open my account two or three times a day because I am a p*ssie, no, I don’t have to. I closed my account to stop people from attacking my work, and attacking me via PM’s, which happened constantly. Couldn’t I have just blocked people, sure, but I don’t block people. And besides, you never know who is who on this site and to have the ability to block everyone who might harm you is tedious. So I closed my account, at first to leave this insane world completely, but I couldn’t. I like this place too much. So it remains closed as some sort of protection for me, but still I am attacked because I write, read and review poems. How dare I, when my account is closed? So I suppose there is no winning here.



Do I want this “mess” to end? Of course I do, I wanted it to end the day it started. Will it end? Perhaps eventually but there will always be an underlying current of distrust and to be honest, at this point, hate. Hate is a very strong word, but that is what I see right now, that could easily change to dislike over time. Will it ever be mended entirely, well I don’t like to say never, but I doubt it. Too many feelings have been hurt and too many wrong things have been said. It is one thing to not like someone but to spread vicious lies and rumors about their character and way of life is unforgiveable. Will I ever forget all of this, I’m sure I will. Will I ever forgive, probably not?



I personally think the best course of action in this is to ignore. If some writers come back, then they come back. If they don’t, then they don’t. But I will say this, if they do come back and are attacked, then let the cards lay where they may.

If you chose to like me and like my poetry, that is great, we all know I am not the best poet on this site or even close, but if what I write is something you like, then please let me say “Thank you” right now. But if you don’t like me or my poetry, that is your prerogative and you are entitled to that. If you want to leave me hateful reviews and low ratings, be my guest. Ratings do not mean anything to me and truly, I have no idea what my rating score is.



In closing out this long winded write please let me say, I am sorry that this ever happened, I am sorry that people were hurt in the process, I am sorry that this had to play out on a public forum and I am sorry for at times acting out of character, but I am not sorry for defending my friend or friends and will not hesitate to do so in the future.



Thank you Marie, for your concern and your attempt to resolve this.

[shallimarRose]

Emily said it well... "I have cried hot tears when taken to the page of a wonderful poet and found them packed up and gone" I love reading you Jack.. This is a true mature attempt on your part. I have been gone a lone time so really didn't know what was going on here but since April? Wow... I never use profanely i cannot even bring myself to type the words out so for me hearing all these things that have been said and called to your friend turns my stomach.. I do hope that everything settles and all poets can learn to live in peace and harmony here and everywhere. I am pleased to know you are still writing I did not know you could do that if you closed your account.. For me and all who love the art of rhyme to lose the opportunity to read you would be very sad. Glad you stopped in and left this book ..... ;)
huggs, Rose

[Bare Trees]

Well said Jack.

[Emily B]

thank you, Jack, sending you much love

[Marie Anzalone]

Well said, both CHL and Jack. Moving forward in honesty is what we all hope for. Jack, I appreciate you taking the time to respond here.

Of course we will defend against injustice when we see it. If I have learned anything at all form these he-said, she-said situations, it is this:

You have to come to a place where you can let go of the past, and agree that nay new situations that arise must be dealt with only in context of the situation at hand. People need to be given a chance to change. It will not happen overnight. I am not looking for a miracle. No tearful reconciliation. Just a cease-fire. A CHANCE for healing and moving forward. No guarantees.

But I will tell you something. Five years ago, when I joined the site, I was amazed that an online space could offer so much genuine goodwill as I found here. There was nastiness and bickering at many other places; it was not here. There were skirmishes, but not the level of soul-destroying behavior I saw elsewhere.

It is up to any community, online or not, to have that dialogue periodically, regarding its informal parameters on how its members get treated. That includes all members, not just the favored ones. I think it is time we put some thought into it on this site. There is too much of value lost when in-fighting forces out people who really do contribute, who really are missed when they go.

[redflutterby]

Well said Jack...you've given much thought to your words. This was written and expressed without anger or bitterness. There is strength and certainty in this response...thank you for being reasonable and mature. I can't say I would have myself. It gives me some comfort to know that a cool head can prevail. You have my respect for stepping up in this way.

[rhythm&blues]

I wasn't going to reply to this post, but you are a true gentleman Jack, I've only been here a short while and I'm not familiar with what goes on in all actuality, but I almost left after seeing some horrific words cast out on live feed here during this feud, I stayed away for quite some time afterwards, I was truly appalled. I hope that all intended parties can come to some sort of understanding. If I'm mistaken about those involved, I've read everyone's poetry at one time, and all are extremely talented in their own special way. I've much enjoyed your poetry, and I think stepping up to the plate in such a manner is commendable. Good work on orchestrating the peacemaking Marie.

[LJW]

Dumfounded. Is it only me or does anyone else only consider a person they've actually met in person and spent considerable time with in the real world; assessing each other's character before making "friends"? A reality check is in order for all writers on this site.

[shallimarRose]

My best friend ever I have never met in person.. We have been good friends for over ten years... sitting and talking over a cup of coffee on the phone or computer is no different for me then sitting across the table at Starbucks sipping coffee and talking with her.. ?

[Marie Anzalone]

I gently disagree, LJW, and it is not often that happens with you. I do consider people I have met to be real friends, if they have put time and effort into getting to know me. I do know many folks who feel the same as you do, but I would say that the younger generations are more comfortable with the concept. You do bring up very valid points about the role of body language, voice inflection, etc, in real life interactions. That, to me, is the core reason there is so much misunderstanding.

[Marie Anzalone]

I have met about a dozen writers here in person; my former partner met some more. Many I have talked to on the phone, including a few responding on this thread. Maybe it's different for me, since so much of my communication and support has to come online, due to where I live. I tell you, though, it hurts just as much to go to bed thinking that someone I care about "only" online is mad at me for something, as it does for any of a number of real friends. Then again, I've had to move around a lot, and can only stay in touch even with some real life friends online. Call me sensitive, but I do care very much about people I've met online, and enjoy interacting with them, sometimes even in person when possible. I have plans to meet some more when I am stateside, too.

[Emily B]

I love you all. Over the years I have cried hot tears when taken to the page of a wonderful poet and found them packed up and gone. It is a death of sorts not knowing if they will ever find their way back. We all have a public presence here--what people think we are. And if we are true to plan we have a deep and rich personal existence as well. The one no one can guess. It is time to repair, to build up, to create and not destroy.

peace to all

[Marie Anzalone]

I could not agree more with these words.

[shallimarRose]

ditto... We don't want to lose any one of the writers here.. All contribute something different.. sR

[Riverz]

Marie. you got a good heart here. it shows.
though please beware: naivety often underlies good intentions.
of these three people alluded to in your post,.. let them attack each other to death! let them be and leave them be gone, if they have chosen. it is very friendly to praise their writing and contributions at this site. but it is also grossly inaccurate to push the idea that they are good writers.
you and I both know the WC game, and it has nothing to do with writing ability: rather, it is a popularity parade, where one member praises another, either modestly or lavishly, and then back it goes, and so on and so forth. these three people you have alluded to play this game. they stroke egos and like to be stroked in return.
(each to their own)
such 'interaction' doesn't bother me to any great degree.
my issue with these people is the nastiness they dish out to new comers who do not roll like they roll. the willingness to attack others for being an independent mind here at WC.
here's a link for a case in point (regarding your miss F):

http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Calo/1169532/

...just look at her venomous ringleading attack in the review box...

Q, J, and F want to squabble and quit the site?
For heavens sake, just let them be gone.

(I know you may delete this review anyway... do what you must)

[Bare Trees]

Your link doesn't seem to work.

[Riverz]

try copy and paste... it worked for me two seconds ago...

[Bare Trees]

That's what I did. I'll try again.

[Bare Trees]

Nope. Don't work for me.

[Riverz]

you might also try a writing search : Inspector Journo
or alternatively a writers search : Calo ...

[Marie Anzalone]

Appreciate a non-combative opposing viewpoint. Your words will stay.

[shallimarRose]

The link worked for me... OK I have to weigh in here.. I hope this is not what started this whole thing.. This is not plagiarism.. Many write poetry or songs from using all titles or names.. I actually thought that was brilliantly put together.. I have written songs completely made up using song titles..and sang in night clubs.. I got nothing but rave reviews and one of my songs was almost picked up by a record label.. The song titles were very obvious and nothing was ever said about it being plagiarism.. You cannot copyright a title.. it's a fact of life..
Just my thoughts.. save or delete.. xo

[LJW]

I agree 100% with this viewpoint. Marie, write. Just write.

[Marie Anzalone]

I am writing, I am, I assure you.

[shallimarRose]

There should be room enough for all an any site.. Poets should manifest love ... No-one poet can say they are better then the other.. All have different styles and none are better then the other because only the reader judges and decides what they like.... I have known J for a while now..
I messaged with him quite a bit when I first came here. I have never heard him to say a word against anyone ever.. (i have not seen the posts so cannot say much)... F is a wonderful writer and one I would subscribe to on the spot... Q is a new friend to me.. He seems very nice but I do know a lot about him at this early point... I do not get involved in other poets/peoples squabbles... I read what I like and i comment politely.. No-one will tell me not to read someone and get away with it.. I know the writers.. I don't know the argument, what its about or who or what started it.. What I do know is that nothing should ever be made public if it is not up-building. We are poets.. The words from our pens should not be used in a negative way.. We should be ambassadors of peace sharing our gift with the world and never trying to stop another from doing the same.. I do not want to lose any of these writers here...

I would like to set this video here and invite you to view it.. It takes about 4 minutes ... A world joined though poetry and art.. A project I am part of... sorry for rambling.. Good night and god bless.. shallimarRose

[Marie Anzalone]

Please do share the video. I would love to see it.

[shallimarRose]

copy and paste in the address bar..
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-diary-of-an-angel-journey

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree with the terms. People make mistakes. We need to learn from them and be better. I don't know the situation. We need to stick together. World is difficult enough.
Coyote

[Marie Anzalone]

Agreed on your observations, and thank you, Coyote. Life is too short.
Not asking for reconciliation. Just a cease-fire.