Sarita, you done good, hon.
And also, I might add, there are some very fine poets among us who did NOT enter but who may have voted, and one at least who definitely did vote (Cass) so dividing along that line (of who did and did not enter) wouldn't work at all, in terms of discovering if poets voted differently than "non-poets".
My dad, rest his soul, was a magnificent musician and one of the things he did amazingly well was teach voice. He taught people to sing. He taught that everyone can sing, that anyone can learn to match pitches so there is no such thing as tone deafness, etc.
I am coming to similar points of view in terms of poetry. There are some for whom it feels foreign and who believe they can't and who don't care to, etc., but I am about to conclude that underneath, everyone is a poet.
Shoot me now.
I shall not shoot you, but I don't agree that everyone is a poet. I told you I was horrible.
Some see metaphor and imagery everywhere, have a natural feel for meter and language, and some do not. Some take care in choosing just the right words and devices, and some do not. Some recognize these things in a poem when they see them, go mining for them, delight in finding them -- and for others, they might as well not be there at all. I think it's possible to have someone have a natural feel for poetry, and yet not pick up a pen (though, gaah! write a poem!). I also think it's possible for someone to spit verses out like watermelon seeds and not be a poet. Like I said, I'm horrible.
I think some don't give a damn about poetry at all -- or are intimidated by it. Others appreciate nice rhyme and meter, a catchy sound and idea. Still others examine every word and how every nuance of it plays into that line and the poem as a whole. turn every metaphor inside out, and pore over the images to see every angle and facet. I am assuming everyone who cared enough to vote would fall into the latter two categories, that some poets fall into both -- but that more poets are likely to fall into the last category than non-poets.
Me, I want a purpose to every rhyme, every word, every bit of alliteration, and to the meter itself -- and I want them all to work together without a false note or extra word. I want the thing to hit me at a visceral level, to rouse emotion in me -- and I want all of the details to back that up on every read. When all of that works, I'm blown away.
The hardest part for me is to weigh two very different poems against one another when both of them work perfectly on their own terms.
Anyway. I'm guessing that most of the people who delve into a poem and analyze it to bits likely write poetry themselves (or have at some point). And I'm guessing that by virtue of picking poems to pieces, they're likely to see different things and thus have different favorites than those who don't.
Despise me if you must. Feel free to spank me.
ETA:
I could have summed that up in one sentence: Poets likely notice craft more than non-poets. Definitely, I should be spanked.
ETA:
I guess that's two sentences.
