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By Skumpfsklub , 19 July, 2009
A review is like your poem in that it is a piece of writing that serves the purpose of its author.  So it would seem reasonable to approach it first as such, then as it relates to the poem, then as it relates to the poet.  But what comes first is the question "Is it a review?"

A cursory reading may be all that's needed to dismiss a piece as 'not a review.'  It is not a review if it gives no evidence that your poem was actually read.  A summary judgment, such as, "It sucks," or, "It's awesome" is not evidence that your poem was read.  Sadly, even "I read your poem" is not evidence that your poem was read.  Find the evidence.

If it's a review, look at its purpose.  A review's purpose should be patent, but it isn't always; if you can't find the purpose, drop the piece.  Common purposes in reviews are:  'rating the piece,' 'technical review,' 'critical review,' 'didactic review,' and there are others.  What's the evidence?

If rating reviews are meet with your purpose, fine; if not, such reviews are dismissable [I reject the dictionary spelling 'dismissible' as it does not reflect my speech].  So also for other purposes.  The point here is that you can reject a review on grounds of its relevancy, and it takes only a little reading to establish 'irrelevant' firmly.

With a bona fide 'relevant review' in hand, you can afford the time to determine the degree of engagement, depth of analysis, sophistication of analysis, etc.  This is good policy.  You might have more review than you know what to do with, or you might have a review that's not even so sharp as your poem's marginal notes.  Mismatch! Skip these---politely, as you may be able to find a half-way meeting ground later with these; you might not be on the same page with them, but you're in the same book.  Read reviews you can understand.

With a 'relevant review of appropriate critical strength' and your own poem, you can go back to proper poet's work.  You have feedback of the right type:  to the point(s) important to you, in accessible language, and potentially useful in a practical way.  Since you will get few such, squeeze 'em tight, for all the juice there is in 'em.  

Say "Thank you for the useful review" when it is true.  Not otherwise; critics need feedback, too.