My Bad Poetry

The co-hosts are honored to have a two time "Wakefield Prize" winning poet on this week's show. Aside from made up awards, John Yamrus brings decades of wisdom to the podcast in writing and being published. Of course, he also brings what he calls "embarrassingly" bad poems. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.15 Poem & I have (w/ John Yamrus) End Poem from a Real Poet: Two works from Selected Poems: The Direc...

Ken, the self described blue collar poet and poet laureate of the Cleveland sewer system, joins Dave and Aaron for some needed discussions around beard balm ingredients, who really was at the manger, and how someone stumbles into poetry. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.14 "A Party at the Manger, The Beard Balm Conundrum, & Judging the Dead (w/ Ken Tomaro)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Al...

Aaron and Dave are fated with the task of diving back into the old works of a high school Aaron this week. Instead they spend most of their conversation discussing the Barbie movie; most of which had to be cut for time. While the poem is nothing special Aaron seized on a second of time to close out a long standing debate when Dave admits to hearing alliteration with only two repetitions of the sta...

My Bad Poetry returns from its midseason hiatus with a teacher ready to teach. Jessica Cuello brings her rejects to the table and still manages to encourage and educate the two co-hosts in the best possible way. Hear discussions on purposeful misspellings, missing the mark with narrative over lyrical lines, and how punctuation can be a great friend or foe. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.12 "Conchenc...

Dave and Aaron were unable to find the time to record this week. So Aaron dug through the back catalogue of late Season 3 and the first half of Season 4 to compile this random collection of outtakes and bloopers. This episode features a heavy dose of one particular co-host. From beard wax to barbershop, we all get to learn a little more about the person, the legend, the persona grata that is Dave....

Aaron and Dave spend the show discussing a day in the life... but not the classic rock song. Aaron's high school poem "Day" barely qualifies as a thought and yet the hosts spent way to much thought on this one. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.11: "Day" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Nostalgia" by Giannina Braschi translated by Tess O'Dwyer Podcast Email: mybadpoetry.thep...

Even with somewhat garbled moments Tate Lewis-Carroll's humor and wisdom comes through clearly and they share some pretty good "bad" poems with Aaron and Dave. Common splices, run on sentences, and a third thing, keep the party going with these poems, and a early poet experiments with styles and subjects ranging from passion, sticking it to tradition, and genuine grief. So join us as...

This week Nolcha Fox brings three poems that range in their... quality? Listen to Dave make the most random connection between Nolcha's poem "Gently Used" and the Greek myth of Pandora. Aaron talks about snot and dead caterpillars. Nolcha brings rhyming poems when she normally writes in free verse. This one goes places. Good thing we had Directions! My Bad Poetry Episode 4.9 "Ma...

This week's episode features three very different types of "bad" poems. Robert brings to the show: a poem he wants to change to flash fiction, a published poem that he considers "his worst", and a typical angsty poem that carries all the attitude and cringe we have grown to love (or love to groan at). My Bad Poetry Episode 4.8 "PDA, Ugolano...& Masochist (w/ Robert...

Laurence brings to the show two rough drafts of works that they are still chipping at to find the statue within the stone... but don't think the poems sink on arrival! Follow Dave, Aaron, and Laurence through the murky current stream of consciousness that is three nerds reflecting on language, structure, lovelorn angst, and all those awkward 20 something moments that may be better as tears los...

Adrian dug through a box of loose leaf works to find poems that span a decade. From middle schooler to NYC apartment dweller, Adrian's previous contexts help pull back the curtain on poems full of mixed metaphors, Greek myths dropped in, and chewy lines to say. Dave and Aaron had a lot to ruminate on and that was before they even got to the chapbook on Teeth! My Bad Poetry Episode 4.6 "Un...

Aaron and Dave find themselves returning to where it all began... the thoughts of a "misunderstood" high schooler. They have walked these halls before and frankly any door would be a good exit from this failed philosophical fluff. Hope none of you all feel as trapped listening to this as Aaron felt when he wrote it back in the day. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.5: "The Hall" End Poem...

Aaron is late to recording and Dave is early to leave but Paul Lutter puts up with the both of them. While the hosts have had English teachers and college professors on the show, this is the first time they have had a college prof who was one of their teachers. Paul taught Dave and now Dave gets to taunt Paul...if only Paul chose poems that weren't so darn sentimental ;) The three discuss the...

What do Dave and Aaron do when a fellow Les Misérables enthusiast and Luther Seminary alumn comes on the show? Talk about basically everything else. From the complex rhyme structures of limericks to the nuanced, highly sophisticated, and informed opinions of high school boys, Matt's typewritten poems from 93' do not disappoint. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.3 "Elegy & A Limerick (w/Matt...

Aaron and Dave find themselves trying to solve the mystery of Candice Kelsey's Murdered worms and what else She Wrote about. From a red pocket folder emerge poems much like how worms appear on a sidewalk after a spring rain, and much like the worms they may have been better left uncovered... Candice brings a perfect self deprecating humor and wit to the show that hopefully translates well to y...

How do Dave and Aaron decide to get back into the habit after a long break from recording? They drag along a new friend! Alex Carrigan joins the co-hosts for the first episode of Season 4 and carries the show with his energy, creativity, and of course his bad poetry. From a Gotye inspired breakup poem to a haiku heavy ode for a baker...as well as an extra little erasure poem that might have been b...

Dave and Aaron receive a mysterious voicemail from a Ms. Roberta Spaghettio (who is definitely in no way Tiffany M Storrs). Roberta tries to clear up the pronunciation of a certain press to ...some success.  Hear the definitive pronociation here and shout out to Roi Fainéant for being the fun filled press that they are! My Bad Poetry Episode 3.21 "A Call (w/ Roberta Spaghettio)  Podcast...

For their last guest episode of the season, Dave and Aaron get a master class on the evolution of poems from the amazing Julia Guez.  Julia brings two examples of "bad" poems that have evolved over time through edits and revisions to become completely different works of art.  From collapsing couplets to exploring expansions this episode focuses on the art of writing and rewriting and rew...

Dave and Aaron had to do their best not to waste time because they had a precious 40 minutes to speak with the great Jared Beloff during his lunch break.  While they would have been thrilled to spend the whole time talking about Jared's new book, Jared did not disappoint with two amazing poems form his days at a 10th grader.  From moss to Sasquatch, Jared's poems seem to have always soug...

From a concrete poem that might have benefited from it's own Hulk Smash to a emo-laced exploration of that thing called "Love,"  Michael VanCalbergh's high school poems live up to this show's title.  Dave and Aaron find another fast friend with this week's guest as Michael brings the perfect energy to a rare evening recording.  Be warned however the final poem hits hard as it carefu...

Dave and Aaron breath a sigh of relief after finishing the final typed collection from Aaron's high school years.  While there are still more episodes to come it felt like a good time to reflect and wrap up most of Season 3.  They talk about what episode they would suggest to someone starting the show and highlight some amazing events of the season.  There is even a brief cameo from...

Just when you thought you had heard the last of the " Silence Saga ", the very end of high school Aaron's third anthology throws one more in the mix.  An untitled poem musing on the need and lack of silence seems to be a fitting companion for Dave and Aaron this week as Aaron's "recording studio" -aka the kitchen table- is repeatedly interrupted by a child who is stretching the definition of...

If the Silence Saga wasn't enough Aaron's previous self decided to write a second "My Words" without any acknowledgment of the first.  Dave and Aaron work through this poem that seems to be reflecting on the Wolf journal entries as a whole and they find themselves landing in a similar place (spoilers... it's toxic masculinity!)  My Bad Poetry Episode 3.17: "'My Words (II)" End Poem from...

Start of 2023 with a new blooper reel!  Or maybe don't... We won't judge.   Aaron and Dave continue to struggle with all things recording in this collection of gaffes, tangents, and conversations cut for time.   Want to enjoy a real episode?  Might we suggest our Featured Guests Episodes ! Want to enjoy more bloopers?  We have plenty of those too ! Podcast Email: mybadpoet...

With the holidays and vacations, Dave and Aaron decided to try their hand at a new format for this special episode.  With randomly generated words, chance styles, and five minutes the two co-hosts attempt to write poems for the season.  Some fair better than others.  None fair well.* Hoping the end of 2022 has brought with it times of rest, joy, hope, peace, and reasons to be happy....