by Lisa Asanuma

Created on: April 18, 2008

As a former submissions editor, and then editor-in-chief of an independent, student-run literature magazine, I've read a lot of bad poems. In fact, mountains and mountains of them. Four years' worth of bad poems. But I can't look back on that and say that any of it was a waste of my time.

It's not just that I learned things-facts, a new perspective on things, badly worded as it might have been-but I also learned about poetry itself. More to the point, I learned about the mistakes that poets make. I've learned that there really is such a thing as "too poetic" when it comes to subject matter, that too much emotion chokes down words, but that suppressing emotion too much can be equally bad. I've learned that stretching or squishing your words so that you can follow form to the letter can kill the spirit what could have been a beautiful line. I've learned that there's a difference between a poem with an agenda and a poem written specifically for an agenda. I've learned that subtlety can be overrated, though of course it isn't always. And that's just a tiny fraction of the list that I could produce.

Most importantly, though, I've learned that a good poem, when you finally find one, can suddenly be more profoundly appreciated. Anyone can rhyme AA,BB, and so on and call it a poem, but for words to suddenly become something more, something that can touch the heart or bring people together, or simply share an experience in the clearest and most minimal of ways, that is a precious, precious thing. And if bad poetry has taught me all of that, then it must have some value, surely.

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