meter, grammar and syntax, vocabulary, fearlessness, wit, insouciance

These principles are what Dr. Joseph S. Salemi, Department of Classics, Hunter College (CCNY), believes constitute good poetry, or rather the principles that guide him in the writing of his own poetry. Of course that poetry is a certain formal kind. Which I believe leaves the first open to discussion.

I am not a member of the formalista party, although I do prefer to write mostly in form these days, so some free verse guideline would be an acceptable alternative to the first principle. But the key word is guideline. Otherwise, anything goes. And just anything is just not poetry.

But the second and third principles I believe are mandatory for communication. Otherwise, the poet is talking to himself. And I’d rather not participate in his or her onanistic revelry. Actually, I can’t. It’s an oxymoron. In more ways than one.

The last three principles are needed for life in general, and certainly for any poet. (Although I dislike that last word. Why not nonchalance?) But for any good American list, there should be 4 more principles to complete the recipe.

I’d add these: receptiveness, originality, rhythm, and simplicity. They may overlap with some of the good Doctor’s principles, but I believe them important enough to stand alone.

I think it’s imperative one be receptive to all winds of change, as well as the well-tested firmament of the past.

In the same light, it is tiring to read the same story twice. Be original; there are many gods out there to call upon.

A good sense of rhythm is necessary; poetry is song as well as meaning.

And lastly, to quote Thoreau: “simplify, simplify, simplify.”

mq:
If the current poetic scene could be metaphorically imagined as a body-building advertisement, most poets would be the "Before" photograph: the fat, wheezing, skin-sagging schmuck who looks like a ripe pear, and who can't touch his toes. The verse of such poets is out of shape. It lacks the hard edges that one sees in a well-toned physique.

Poems need hard edges. They ought to be as recognizably sleek and sharp as a bayonet. They can't be vague or gaseous or tentative. Poems—if they are worth doing at all—must be clear and unmistakable

The Hard Edges of a Poem by Dr. Joseph S. Salemi in EXPANSIVE POETRY & MUSIC ONLINE