Why So Few 5's?

I know this may sound strange to you, but there is a good reason why I give so few 5’s, and no suggestions with my 4.5’s.

During his lifetime, Walt Whitman published no fewer than seven different versions of “Leaves of Grass”. On his deathbed, he complained that his latest revision (#8) still was incomplete. Emily Dickenson specifically stated in her will that her notebooks be burned, for they only contained poor scratching, and nothing worthy to be shown in public. They are two of the many poets, including Frost, Whittier, Rilke, Rumi, Cummings, Silverstein, and others, who never saw their work as being finished.

(Rumor has it that the final copy for the manuscript of “Where the Sidewalk Ends” was stolen from Silverstein by his landlord, who told him to publish or get a new apartment. When Heffner pays the bills, one does not say no to him!)

So, when I praise a work, then give it a 4.5, I pay honor to the poet’s creed that no work is ever finished. We will always be tinkerers, trying to improve on what we have. We are like parents, who, upon seeing their kids graduate with law degrees; automatically think their kids would have done better as doctors. (or vice versa)

I hope this helps you to see where I am coming from.