My Bad Poetry

Dave brings his first ever "poem" from youth/yesteryear to the show and it's kind of clear how Aaron and Dave became such good friends. A pop parody of Plato's Apology? ...priceless

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.17: "You Can Throw Me a Huge Party"

End Poem by a Real Poet: "The Hour of Departure..." -Apology by Plato. Line 42 Translation: Jowett

If one can get past the blasphemous title... you are met with a pretty blanned poem. Dave and Aaron are back to the old swing of things with a dug up poem from Aaron's past. And of all the ones found... this probably should have remained lost. An epic fail of an epic poem for a freshman college class. Enjoy!

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.16: "The Word of God (written by Aaron)"End Poem from a Real Poet: "Jesus in the WIlderness" by Malika Booker

Dave and Aaron learn that good sonnets do not always make for great poems. While these poems may be technical to a tee, Taylor cringes at missed opportunities, as one may flinch at their own distorted reflection in the Bean. You know that famous art work in Chicago?

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.15 "What You Wanted, In the Winter, God Shows Off, & Double Barrier (w/ Taylor Byas)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "After the Mona Lisa" by Taylor Byas

Katie brings some really fun poems to the show that frankly aren't bad at all! Embarrassing...maybe... but even that is up for debate. What isn't up for debate is the phallic shape... found in both?? Katie also teaches Aaron and Dave the word "majusculation," which is a very fancy word for a pretty common thing!

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.14 "A Prayer & Coupling with Big Ben (w/ Katie Manning)

End Poem from a Real Poet: "On the Origin" by Katie Manning

Though Dave had to duck out early Matthew brought enough nerdiness for the both of them. MEH makes a triumphant return with poems from the cutting room floor. They are random, they are obscure, they are just the right kind of quirky for Aaron's taste. Do you think they should be revived?

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.13: "life is bigger than you, if we're being honest (w/ Matthew E. Henry)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Job confronts Maggie Smith at a conference" by MEH

The two titles combined kind of of speak for themselves, when describing the topics of these poems. Dave and Aaron are graced with the presence of a friend who (having listened to the show before it was a show) finally took a turn in the hot seat with some of her works from college. Though Emily claims she has never been a poet, these poems... beg to differ?? Hey, at least they're better than 99% of what Aaron wrote in high school.

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.12: "Graceful & Awkward (w/ Emily)

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Bed in Summer" by Robert Louis Stevenson

Emily is a close friend of the show, who keeps her secrets closer! Thanks Emily for the last minute appearance!!

If ever you need to find bad poetry Ariel suggests long ago posts on the old social media sites. Even if you have deleted Live Journal and Myspace, don't worry you may have left something on the good old notes pages on Facebook. Dave and Aaron discuss with Ariel the deep lyricism of Dashboard Confessional and the cliches of chick flicks.

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.11: "It's Surreal to be Hit Gently with a Rose (w/ Ariel Treece)

Ariel Treece is an assistant librarian making her a true hero! Support your local libraries everyone.

Shaawan brings three interesting poems to the podcast. With no real titles to work with, the hosts and guest sort through words from Shaawan's high school journals. Maybe he could have wrote a song... but he most definitely wrote these!!!

End Poem from a Real Poet: "There will always be another horror..." by Shaawan Francis Keahna published on pg. 8 of Mayday.

Alina Ștefănescu, brings three very different examples of "bad" poetry. One struggling with voice, another structure, and one context. Without Dave, Aaron and Alina work through these varying verses to see how ideas sometimes rightly remain in the drafts folders for a later day or a note to something new.

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.9: "Asterisk, Etiologies, & Octave with Line from a Lullaby (w/Alina Ștefănescu)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Tonight as You Pace the Garden" by Alina Ștefănescu

Dave and Aaron and overjoyed to have another guest on the show! Risha brings poems from Jr. High that have been shared in classrooms, Watt pad, and Tumbler, but now have found there way to My Bad Poetry. How bad could they be?

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.8: "Broken hearted and numb, Dark Skies, & Where I'm From (w/Risha Nicole)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "The Spring of Love" by Risha Nicole

After a last minute change in plans, Aaron and Dave find themselves recording with only one hastily written poem prepared to share. Working with what they've got, the show struggles along. What is a sonnet really? Are Reels real? Why watch what one hates? These are the big questions that may made a boiling brain plip-plop.

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.7: "An Ode to Rage Bait"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "There was an Old Man from Quebec" by Edward Lear

Aaron and Dave try to keep the show light hearted as they dig into a high school assignment about the Vietnam War. Did a high school Aaron give the proper weight and respect to such a severe situation as the draft that effected so many families and young adults? Obviously not... but...the poem could have been worse.

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.6: "The Draft"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale

While this poem was already shared with the world way back in 2004, now some 21 years later Amelia brings this wonderful LiveJournal entry to Aaron and Dave for our dear listeners to hear. An emo work that asks the deep questions.

My Bad Poetry Episode 7.5: "What If? (w/ Amelia McCracken)

Clem kicks off the show with a poem that is nearly the opposite of a "cake poem." No missing title there. With the other two, Aaron and Dave may find themselves with more familiar styles yet still end up lost in the pregnant stars. Clem then pulls what may be a My Bad Poetry first, having brought an end poem written specifically for the show.

My Bad Poetry Episode: 6.23 "Perched Rock, Flask of Salt (w/Clem Flowers)

End Poem from a Real Poet: "If you think I'm stupid now//you should see me when I'm high// And I'm smarter than I look "

Lori joins the show to bring several poems about disappointing days. Running themes are dead end jobs, let downs, and meh moments shine through in these rough poems from her past. Aaron and Dave commiserate with the sentiments but still, the poems... are worthy of this show.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.22 "Thursday, Toil and Trouble (w/ Lori D'Angelo)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Barriers" by Lori D'Angelo

Maddie makes a triumphant return to the show with three phenomenally different “bad” poems from a one and a half year span when she was graduating college.  Aaron forgets about basic sentence structure making his critiques, questions, and interpretations of these poems, less than stellar.  Luckily, Maddie gave a Master class on linguistics and Dave could help make up for Aaron’s lack of understanding the English language. 

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.20: "JEANS, Rain and umbrella, at my wedding (w/ Madeleine Corley)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "I Remember" by Madeleine Corley"

Dave and Aaron are joined this week by the prolific nat raum! nat brings journal poems from highschool that are broad and vague at times, yet deeply ernest in the cringiest ways. Laugh along with us as nat shares their poems and stories as well as their incredible insights and knowledge (as well as some hot takes on obituaries?).

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.14: "Unfinished Business, Bittersweet, Death. (w/nat raum)"

Megan makes her triumphant return to the podcast with not 1, not 2,... but 4 "bad" poems from journals in the past. Each poem brings a different kind of bad, from the structural to the theological. Dave and Aaron struggle to find a real critique for two of them but the other two make up for it.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.12: "Orchids and Roses, Work of Art, ... (w/Megan McDermott)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "O, Lover of Souls" by Megan McDermott

This week co-host's Dave and Aaron find themselves talking to a person working in the Twin Cities, who has never been to the Twin Cities. And if that isn't a riddle enough, they have to try and figure out his old poems! Adam Shaw brings poems from an old duct taped journal and when these three nerds aren't discussing LOTR's sword names, they are trying to make heads or tales of some moody rhymes that could use some work.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.10: "Windowless Room, Taos Court, & Algebraic Hymn (w/Adam Shaw)"

After nearly two years of DMs to work out a time, the co-hosts of My Bad Poetry get to chat with Jenny Qi... and it was worth the wait! Jenny brings three poems from three distinct times in her life so one can see the progress of a writer from middle school to after college, and all the pit falls along the way. From personified cats to personified herons with a bull beast in between, this episode is a creature feature for the ages.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.9 "The Seaman's Stray, Minotaur, & Almost (w/Jenny Qi)"

Jay Parr brings their tinkerings with poetry to the show, demonstrating the fun of self referencial poems. While none of them would be considered high art... they really aren't trying to be. A string of bad haiku's bring it home in this exploration in a proser playing with poetry. Also, Dave may have found his favorite poet... CW: The end poem deals with suicidal ideation.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.8: "SONNET DCLXVII & Obfuscatory Exegesis (w Jay Parr)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Flat Spots" by Jay Parr found in Five Minutes Aug '23

Lasara Firefox Allen brings work from their April 30 in 30 project (30 poems written in 30 days). These hastily written poems may blow most of the stuff Aaron and Dave brings to the show out of the water in quality, nevertheless the saccharin and specificity within prevents the poems from their true potential. Aaron and Dave learn a lot about the art of writing consistently and looking for one's flow.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.7: "HftRR & Dimestore Shaman (w/ Lasara Firefox Allen)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Shark Smile" by Lasara Firefox Allen

To say this experience was surreal would be... partially true? william erickson brings some bad poems from an old chapbook manuscript. Three poems confuse and bewilder Dave and Aaron, but Will's closing poem brings it all full circle with a perfect example of what the previous poems were trying to do!

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.6: "Hello Best Wishes, (w/william erickson)

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Field of Vision" by william erickson

Kellie Scott-Reed brings a whole lot of laughter and joy to the show, even when her poems were less than happy. An aversion to ernesty in her old poetry leads to some strange twists and turns of phrases, and Aaron and Dave enjoy every moment of the ride.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.4: "Sunday 11:30 Monday Eternity & Oncology (w/ Kellie Scott-Reed)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Canidae" by Kellie Scott-Reed

Dave and Aaron return from a short break to interview a new guest! Conor aka C. M. Crockford brings some classic cringe and embarrassment with the readings of three uniquely bad poems from the scrap box. From a "faux woke" work to a poorly aged "ode" and all the way to failed song lyrics the hosts are taken on a journey through the work of a Conor in his early 20s.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.3: "Stains, Upon Seeing A Photograph of Charles Bukowski (w/ C.M. Crockford)"

Aaron and Dave return for Season Six of My Bad Poetry without the Wolf Journal to guide their discussions. So they bring in more friends! Phil Goldstein brings his Jr. High and High School works salvaged from an old computer. We talk about HAD Skulls, favorite seasons, sneaky rhymes, and old loves we would never ever forget (expect when their name now escapes us). #WeBelievein9thGradePhil.

My Bad Poetry Episode 6.1 "Popular, Snows of Tears, & Autumn's Vow (w/Phil Goldstein)"

Aaron dug back through his old external harddrive to find an audio recording he knew existed and found more than he bargained for. This unplanned sequel to "Bad Songs Giving" provides listeners with even more high school winey-piney Aaron belting his poor lyrical heart out on a basic Windows microphone. Dave resists the urge to walk away, but even if he did his bluetooth earphones would keep this new horror directly in his ears.

My Bad Poetry Episode 5.24: "Regret & Better off Friends"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "The Eyes of My Regret" b Angelina Weld Grimké

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Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco comes on the show to bring his less than stellar work. From "Emily’s Recurring Dream of a Failed Bridge" which was too long for the show title that is full of "—" in honor of Emily Dickinson...let's just say the concept failed to connect. Blanco brings along two other rough poems that eventually got reworked to great success.

My Bad Poetry Episode 5.21: "One Calculus & The Only Island (w/ Richard Blanco)"

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Looking for The Gulf Motel, Marco Island, Florida" by Richard Blanco

Frances Klein makes such an amazing return to the show that she may have out hosted the hosts. With three "new" bad poems from her past, Frances brings us through the stylings of a dictionary and thesaurus, with an uninhibited poem, an ekphrastic/found poem, and an add copy?? Oh Dave and Aaron were there too. (Also includes Tallulah's first guest bark.)

My Bad Poetry 5.18 "Doppelganger, Scenes..., & Hibernation (w/ Frances Klein)"

Kelli Russell Agadon makes her triumphant return to the show after nearly two years since she became the first true guest of the show. This time around, Kelli brings three poems from three different eras in her writing career. She talks with Dave and Aaron about "dressing up" poems, choosing strong titles, and flipping everything on its head, when editing one's work.

My Bad Poetry 5.17 "Both Things are True...North of the Eiffel Tower (w/ Kelli Russell Agadon)

End Poem from a Real Poet: "Hum of the Living" by Kelli Russell Agadon