The Smell of Baking

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet's computer artificial intelligence:

It is not feasible to offer feedback.

Please send feedback about Neo (our computer generated critique system) to https://www.neopoet.com/contact

Your descriptions of a Yule time feast made my mouth water! Good luck in the contest!

Big Hugs, Cat

Hi Mary,
Your poem is full of memory and love, but it feels very focused on your memories, and I found myself feeling a little excluded. I hope that makes sense?

I want to hear the clang of the pan as it hits the stove, the chatter of voices growing around the table. I want the smell of the scene to wrap around me, to give me the warm feeling you had inside when you wrote this.

At the moment, it feels more like a list of lovely things than an invitation into your world. That’s why it’s not quite capturing me as a reader.

Would you be open to reading some other poets? It might help you with structure, word choices, and how to link your memories into something that lets others step inside them too.

If you’d like a list of poems that might inspire you, I can happily put them in this thread, just let me know. Ruby xx

OK Mary, I suggest you read some of these poets just to get an idea of how they write. What techniques they use and how they create images, sounds, space, texture in their poems.

Carol Ann Duffy she's a Poet Laureate and is Scottish. Her poems are usually earthy and based on her background in England. Here's a link to a site where you can read 2 of her poems. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/search?query=carol%20ann%20duffy&refin…

Rita Dove is an American Poet. You can read a lot of her poems here, scroll to the bottom of the page. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rita-dove

I have to go now Mary but I'll be back tomorrow if you have any questions or want anymore poet options just let me know. Ruby xx

May I make a suggestion for poetic reading material? Another great American Poet, Is: Edgar Allen Poe. He is one of the reasons I fell in love with Poems and poetry when I was a kid. In school, we were assigned a project on his most famous poem, "The Raven". also "Annabel Lee". His langue usage is enchanting in a morbid way, in "The Raven" He has a sort of musicality with the poem. He also wrote short stories. The way he constructs a sentence is a beauty in itself. He is a true wordsmith.

Have fun reading, cheers, Cat

I agree with your consensus on Poe. He is my favorite poet by far!