Criticism Means People Are Engaging With Your Work – Poet Star Zahra

Poet and textile artist, Star Zahra (nee Precious Okpeh Star) said she loves when her work (poetry) is critiqued, as it means people are engaging with it.
The artist who spoke with LEADERSHIP Lifestyle noted that she had featured at some festivals, where critics came at her quite strongly for her work. Yet, she had handled them all with a smile and listened to them with curiosity and interest.

“I love criticism! Whether it is constructive, destructive or instructive. What most writers who aren’t comfortable with criticism don’t know is that it’s a thing of joy. It means your work is being engaged with.”
The approach to curiosity, she said, is to know that one often does not have control over how one’s creative works are interpreted. On a few occasions, such as book readings, book signings, and other literary activities, the artist may have the opportunity to correct readers’ misperceptions or misinterpretations of her work.
She continued, “Everyone is going to have their own interpretation of the work, and some might have strong opinions about it, but the bottom line is that it’s been read and then appraised.”

In general, criticism is a good thing, whether constructive or not, compared to the opposite, which means people are not reading the work or have no opinion about it because it’s not worth their time and effort.
“I like criticism. I know that might sound weird. I’ve had some really hard critics come at me during festivals, and I just kept smiling after I left the stage. I still smile anytime I remember their words because I am happy that people are connecting to my books. It is out in the world doing its thing,” concluded Star.