by Karen Goodright

Created on: December 07, 2008

Yes, Virginia, there really is bad poetry.

Really, REALLY bad poetry, and it's freaking fantastic.

Have you ever sat up late at night, surfing the 'net for teenage goth girl poetry? How about pseudo-Celtic mystical poetry, furry musings, or just about any emo song ever written? Bad is bad, and don't give me any of that, "It can't be bad if it was truly inspired by the writer's innermost feelings" crock, you hippie.

I love bad poetry in the same way that I love B movies, ugly little dogs, puns, garden gnomes, lounge singers, and soap operas. They're so horrifically atrocious that I groan and laugh at the same time, and I can't help but fall in love with them.

I'm not alone in this sentiment. Books, web sites, gatherings, and forums celebrating the art of really bad poetry abound. Imitators carefully construct purposefully bad poems, and contests are held in which the winner is he who has written the worst poem.

Beyond the humor, there's something sweet and touching in the fierce sincerity that a lot of these poems display. The writer may or may not be aware of their complete ineptitude when it comes to developing appropriate imagery or turning a clever phrase, but you can't fault them for a lack of earnestness.

I've got to go now. Somewhere out there a 13 year old girl is wistfully writing couplets about pale vampires in black Victorian dress, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

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