Let's talk about s[CENSORED]! But, not really...

Poems containing violent and upsetting imagery should come with a trigger warning when posted, and typically, these kinds of poems are condemning that kind of behaviour so there is no real moral conundrum there. However (in very rare cases) if a poem is condoning violence and offensive behaviour, then we'd have a real problem and the Cove *really* isn't for them.

At the end of the day, as long as you use your discretion and are able to identify if something will be difficult for that one person out there to read, it doesn't hurt to give a quick content warning beforehand :) It's no different than providing a rating for a film.

Though I think we can all agree she had it coming to be quite frank.

My primary concern, too, is how the readers may react. Roughly half of my poems are autobiographical, and there are a couple of 'mature' poems I have written that are based in reality, so naturally, I don't want to implant certain thoughts into the minds of readers- especially if they know me or know me well, lol. It's almost like a breach of privacy you have given consent to. Not sure if anyone else also faces this dilemma, where you are concerned that you will enable one's imagination to run a little too wild, all for the sake of sharing an intimate part of your life.

I think your suggestions for limiting access to those poems are actually fantastic; for some reason I never considered being more selective with my audience and only allowing people I trust to be exposed to such personal and revealing narratives.

I'm not quite sure how one can acquire a bad reputation by sharing something so intimate though, unless the general public is not ready for explicit or mature poetry? Do you worry that poets could get typecasted or 'branded' for being a little too risque or pervy, or that they could get in hot water for sharing something that may be viewed as problematic or TMI? What in particular makes you concerned?

Also, what in particular are you referring to regarding Hanna's situation? I believe there are more than a few scandals attached to her poetry alone.

If someone knew you well enough, they should also learn to read any sensitive material with kindness and maturity in mind. This is why I would recommend limiting this kind of writing to only the people you know you can trust the most and have a good standing relationship with. In other words, don't be sharing it with that person who likes to be a blabbermouth or make harsh opinions. Sensitive material needs a sensitive touch, sort of speak. Unless you don't care what other people think, this may not be so much a problem, I suppose.

It's almost like letting your guard down, in a sense.

By obtaining a "bad reputation," I mean that there are pretty several cultish critics in the poetry scene (namely on YouTube). I wouldn't recommend taking much of what YouTubers say about poetry because, at the end of the day, poetry is all left to interpretation and personal subjectivity. Not to mention most of the reviews I've seen on there are toxic as hell.

Like avoid teen/young adult angst such as this:

I swear she purposefully went on Goodreads to research which poetry books received the lousiest ratings in the comments and was like, "hey, I'm like totally going to make a video about this."

This is just a far-flung example of what I'm talking about, but the only critics that should be listened to on a legitimate level are the poetry journal reviews. That being said, there is also a lot of gatekeeping going around in the poetry community.

This article in Poets & Writers online magazine by Joyce Chen dives into how gatekeeping in the publishing world of poetry has been a problem. You can read it here:

www.pw.org

A writer and editor questions the practice of blind submissions at literary journals as an additional barrier against equity in publishing, and makes the case for diversifying editorial mastheads. 

So it is important to me, I think, that an author of poetry (especially a greenhorn/newbie) needs to be wary of the content they produce. Otherwise, they risk being mocked, scorned, canceled, etc.