My Bad Poetry

The show is visited this week by a host of another poetry reading show (A Hundred Pitchers of Honey), demonstrating a duality in poetry. Donna talks about good poems on her show, on this show... not so much. Donna brings three poems that fail in different ways, only to demonstrate how each one of those failures can be remedied with a final poem that legit made Dave cry. My Bad Poetry Episode 8.4: "I Find Your Photo..., After Life, and Duality (w/ Donna Vorreyer)"End Poem From a Real Poet: "Finding Tongues in Trees" by Donna VorreyerDonna Vorreyer is an author, artist, and retired middle school teacher, who has multiple published chapbooks and full length collections. Her most recent book Unrivered is available now. You can find her work and a more complete bio here. Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com⁠

The show continues its streak of choral lyricists with Devondra Banks... but the works she brings to the show don't quite sing. To be honest, Dave and Aaron actually enjoy most of these contributions as good poems but it's also understandable why Devondra may find these... cringe. End Poem From a Real Poet: "Sage" by Devondra BanksMy Bad Poetry Episode 8.3: "Sharin' Ain'T Carin', Libras Rule, & F.I.U.G. (w/ Devondra Banks)Devondra Banks is a poet and lyricist who has had multiple works set to choral arrangements including "Alleluia, For This Day" and "Joy Never Leaves". She also has two published poetry collections titled Gems and Debris, and Chamomile Clouds.Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com⁠

Aaron and Dave both bring somewhat macabre poems to the podcast this week. Dave wrote an "After" poem based on Tony Silvestri's old opening lines to a sonnet and Aaron is inspired by an unexpected web search. The name of the poem kind of describes itself... but the suggestions might surprise you.My Bad Poetry Episode 8.2: "How to Euthanize a Butterfly"End Poem from a Real Poet: "Wesley's Theory" by Kendrick LamarPodcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com⁠

Dave and Aaron return after a short hiatus for Season 8 of My Bad Poetry with a new guest! He brings to the show a long forgotten start to a sonnet and sings (!) a failed attempt at a fifth and final verse of the Star Spangled Banner.My Bad Poetry Episode 8.1: "A Fifth Anthem Verse (w/ Tony Silvestri)"End Poems from a Real Poet: "Sleep" and "For Such As Me" by Tony SilvestriCharles A Silvestri (Tony) is a world renown lyristis who has worked with some of the most influential choral composers of our time...and it all started with a rush job for a friend. You can find his works and watch for future projects through his website: https://www.charlesanthonysilvestri.com/Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

Dave and Aaron find a Friday in the summer to record a season seven wrap up episode! We started this season with the Silence Saga poem but what we may have all forgotten is that Aaron wrote a second poem that same day. The hosts return to this text with... nostalgia? They also look back over another incredible season of guests! My Bad Poetry Episode 7.20: "The Return of Pain"End Poem from a Real Poet: "Childhood Memories" by William SaphierPodcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

Mitchell Nobis makes his triumphal return on the week of his debut poetry collections publication! In honor of this momentous occasion, Mitch thought it would be nice to bring a few poems that didn't make the cut for this debut... It's hard not to see why. My Bad Poetry Episode 7.19: "I Hear Trees Are Good Metaphors & Symbols & Such (w/ Mitchell Nobis)End Poem from a Real Poet: "So You'd Better Pay Attention" by Mitchell Nobis Mitchell Nobis is an english teacher from Detroit. He is a the host of Wednesday Night Sessions, the KickstART Farmington reading series and the co-founder of NAWP. You can learn more about NAWP at their website https://notatawp.com/. Mitchell's debut poetry collection The Size of the Horizon, or, I Explained Everything to the Trees is available through Match Factory Editions and can be purchased here. Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

Rachel Berg Scherer, Elizabeth Doerr, and Carla Du Pree,grace My Bad Poetry with their incredible presence.  The co-founders of Scribente Maternum talk about how they each “write like a mother” and have created a space for moms of all types to do the same.  Each bring poems of different styles and degrees of “bad” for Aaron and Dave to sift through.  From multiple children’s potty humor to an old journal entry of budding poet finding her way this episode has it all.  My Bad Poetry Episode 7.18: “A Limerick, Haiku, and Song, OMy! (w/ the co-founders of Scribente Maternum)”End Poem From a Real Poet: “My Momma moved among the days” by Lucille Clifton Scribente Maternum is a community of writers who identify as mothers with a goal to embrace the tension that exists between motherhood and writing. You can learn more about this group at https://www.scribentematernum.com/Also check out https://www.citylitproject.org/to learn more about Carla Du Pree’s organization that nurtures the culture of literature in Baltimore and throughout Maryland.Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

For proof that this show is not on permanent hiatus, Aaron shares some fun poems written by him and his daughter on Father's Day. How do you think we all did?This mini episode was inspired by "Dino Poet: A Graphic Novel" by Tom Angleberger.My Bad Poetry Episode 7.17.5: "Four Hastily Written Poems (A Mini Episode)"Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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? ...pricelessMy 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: JowettPodcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 BookerPodcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 ByasTaylor Byas is a nominee for multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net awards, and her debut full length poetry collection I Done Clicked My Heel Three Times won the Maya Angelou Book Award in 2023. She received her doctorate in Creative Writing and Literature through the University of Cincinnati. You can pre-order her newest work Resting Bitch Face here. Follow her work at https://www.taylorbyas.com/.Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 ManningKatie Manning is a professor of writing at Point Loma Nazarene University, a co-founder of editor-in-chief of Whale Road Review, and the author of several chapbooks and full length collections. Her most recent collection Hereverant along with her other works can be found here. You can keep up with her many activities on her website https://www.katiemanningpoet.com/Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 MEHMatthew E Henry publications and other musings can be found here.   His most recent full length collection said the Frog to the scorpion can be found here, with a list of his other published collections.Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 StevensonEmily is a close friend of the show, who keeps her secrets closer! Thanks Emily for the last minute appearance!! Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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.Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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.Shaawan Francis Keahna is an artist, archivist, filmmaker, writer, composer, and poet living in Baltimore, Maryland. His first chapbook is title Mayday and is available through Bottlecap Press. You can keep up with Shaawan and all his work through is website https://shaawan.com/.Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 ȘtefănescuAlina Ștefănescu is an essayist, educator, translator, poet, and short prose author born in Romania and lives in Alabama. Her published anthologies including Dor and the upcoming My Heresies can be found here. You can keep up with her and all her work through her social media or website: https://www.alinastefanescuwriter.com/Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 NicoleRisha Nicole is a poet in Kent, Ohio. Her full length poetry collection Without a Sound is available now. Watch for Dying Girl in the future. You can follow @risha_nicole on most platforms, or check on her website here!Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 LearPodcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com

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 TeasdalePodcast Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Bluesky: @mybadpoetrythepod.bsky.social Instagram & Threads: @MyBadPoetry_ThePod Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mybadpoetry.com