Rowen, I've never read anything from you that came across as even remotely disagreeable. Quite the contrary :)

And yes, I think the definition of point might have to be revised a little when it comes to such writing as poetry and novels.

For instance, poetry obviously doesn't need to have a point in the sense of a thesis statement that can be argued and people can disagree with. But just like an essay writer should be clear on what their point is, a poet should probably be clear on what sort of emotion/feeling they want to convey and cut out everything that doesn't serve that purpose.

Anyway, thanks for raising that point (ha!)