Featured Guest Episodes Episodes

Shiksha wants to make it clear that these are the poems of a 16 year old so listeners beware. From "school is a prison," to a personified Death, Shiksha takes Dave and Aaron through the ringer of cliche high school poems. They all find a little solace in the fact that we all tend to need the same things, and in the end isn't that a sweet piece of cake to consider? My Bad Poetry Episode 5.9: "The Jail I Enrolled Into, The Fallen god, & Chocolate Cake (w/Shiksha Dheda)" End Poem from a Real Poet...

Dave and Aaron welcome back the Gorgan writer herself, Raegen Pietrucha. Raegen has done her due diligence and dug up two old poems from her own high school journal (covered with suns and moons no less). Along with one hold over poem from her last appearance, the the co-hosts work through the emo angst, rhymes, and stream of consciousness to conclude... high school is a weird time. My Bad Poetry Episode 5.8: "Untitled & Desperation (w/ Raegen Pietrucha) End Poem from a Real Poet: "This is Not ...

Dave and Aaron return from their holiday breaks with new guest on the show Trapper Markelz. From questionable interpretations of salt formations to interesting fisher slang, this conversation takes many unexpected turns, much like Trapper's poem on babies. Trapper Markelz is a cyclist, music producer, startup CEO, angler, father, and poet, whose newest poetry book Childproof Sky is available through Cherry Dress Chapbooks. My Bad Poetry Episode 5.7: "Hello, Babies & Slaying It (w/ Trapper Markel...

Though originally cut for time, this boardgame conversation seemed to interesting to leave on the cutting room floor. So during this extended winter break My Bad Poetry decided to drop this special bonus mini Boardgame episode that has nothing to do with poetry whatsoever. Enjoy! Luke Wortley used to be a featured guest/co-host on the Game of Thrones Card Game podcast The White Book (named for the log that chronicles the history and roster of the Kingsguard in A Song of Ice and Fire series). He ...

CW: Some references to abuse made throughout the episode. Lannie Stabile makes her triumphant return to the podcast as its "secret third co-host" with more rabbit holes as well as physical proof of future material (seven journals worth in fact!). Dave and Aaron are regaled with tales of theatre camp, pig fests, and spelling bees, that somehow are tangentially related to the bad poem she brought to the show. Since her last appearance, Lannie has had the poetry book The Inconvenience of Grief pu...

Content Warning: The final "bad" poem does deal with a death by suicide. Covering 34'-40'. _____ Luke Wortley tries a bold strategy coming on the show, which is exploring tangents long enough to never actually get to any of his "bad" poetry. Even his first poem distracts the co-hosts with the painting the ekphrastic is describing! Nevertheless, poems are discussed, from garbage to mitigated garbage, ending with a beautiful prose poem that is very good. * Luke Wortley is a poet in Indianapolis, ...

"Look at Old Photographs/ Everytime we do it makes us laugh." Megan brings so many gems to the show, yet the crew only had time to discuss two of them. Partly because they kept getting off topic with clergy stuff, and mainly because these works from a 17 year old Megan have layers. From romantic idealism to jaded pessimism all within the span of a stanza, Dave and Aaron find the rollercoaster of near rhymes and moonlit miracles well worth the ride. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.19: "The Prince & Old...

Though Dave had to bow out to be a good parent to sick kids, Aaron and Emily take a break from parenting to talk about poetry! Emily brings not only old poems but pictures from an eighth-grade project. Ekphrastic might be one way to describe these works but..."bad"...may be more accurate? My Bad Poetry Episode 4.17 "Popularity, Two Similar? & When a tree is chopped...? (w/Emily Dillon) End Poem from a Real Poet: "Pink Prose" by Emily Dillon published through Twin Pies Literary. Emily is a writ...

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 Director's Cut by John Yamrus. You can find and purchase Yamrus' most recent book Twenty Four Poems here ...

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: "All Planned Out" by Ken Tomaro which is found in his most recently published collection Potholes and Perogies. His othe...

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 "Conchence, Achers, & Smite (w/ Jessica Cuello) End Poem from a Real Poet: "Dear Mother, [I wanted to crawl]" by...

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 we all open up a little after kissing the fire eater. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.10 "Kissing the Fire Eater, Beach ...

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 "Married and Buried, Thought is a Caterpillar, & Gently Used (w/ Nolcha Fox)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Directions" by...

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 Allen)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Ache" by Robert Allen. Robert Allen is a teacher of poetry who lives in Oakland, California. W...

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 lost in the rain. My Bad Poetry Episode 4.7 "A Hillbilly’s Desiderium in Colombia & Reverse Rain (w/ Laure...

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 "Untitled Works & Ganymede in Waiting (w/Adrian Dallas Frandle)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Ode to My Husband...

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 wonders if fatherhood and children's imagination and how all that might be harder to capture in words th...

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 Schur)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Disguised in Plain Sight" by Matt Schur found in his newest published book Imp...

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 your ears! My Bad Poetry Episode 4.2 "Worms and I Sense the Presence of a True Believer (w/Candice M. Ke...

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 better simply erased, Alex did not fail the assignment! My Bad Poetry Episode 4.1 "Flipped Coin & Lo...

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 Email: mybadpoetry.thepodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @MyBadPoetryThe1 Website: https://www.podpage.com/my-bad-poe...

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 rewriting and... My Bad Poetry Episode 3.22 "Meditation at Callicoon & On the Occasion of Our Tenth Anniversary (w...

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 sought to capture the glory of nature, just with way more skill and subtly nowadays. My Bad Poetry Episode 3.21 "My...

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 carefully explores the loss of a parent through a unique lens. Note: When discussing the End Poem Aaron references a song th...