Featured Guest Episodes Episodes

Ever wonder what the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a menstrual period, and a raspberry pie have in common... you probably didn't... and this episode probably won't give you a satisfying answer. But Sandra Marchetti tried to tackle that very topic with her first published poem Seeing (finally) the Commonality Between the Chinese Cultural Revolution and My Period, Or Pie. A title so long My Bad Poetry couldn't even use it all for the show's title- and normally the show is named for multiple poems a...

Kristin makes a triumphant return with two timely poems written at a very different time. From a satirical send up of the perfect house wife to a happy (?)... strange and amazing time capsule of the Bush Era, Kristin takes the show on a journey and uses all the swear beeps we have. My Bad Poetry Episode 8.18: "The Domestic Goddess Waltz & ??? (w/Kristin LaTour)" End Poem From a Real Poet: "Tucson Snow" by Kristin LaTour Kristin LaTour is a teacher at Joliet Jr. College and the founder o...

This week Aaron and Dave are exposed to some great "bad Plath girl poetry." Jennifer Sutherland brings three poems spanning the decades to show that Plath like poetry can grow and improve with time. From an "after" poem that is hard to see the resemblance to a mythic exploration of love and hate, Jennifer's got it all! My Bad Poetry Episode 8.15: "Sylvia, Flutter, & Admetus Mummified (w/Jennifer Sutherland)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Alcestis as a Hon, but not the Kitschy, Cute Kind" as Jenn...

What does one do when they have an embarrassing poem from the 90s set to paper with a typewriter? Dig that thing out and bring it on the show! That's what PJ Temple did this week, and when she was looking for the one that haunted her, she found a forgotten one as well! Dave and Aaron are all the happier for it. Listen as PJ spins wonderful stories about her past and present helping us understand these works. My Bad Poetry Episode 8.14: "Abyss & The Sofa and You (w/ PJ Temple)" End Poem fro...

Rachel Turney brings practically perfect examples of prose poetry, avant guard, surrealism, alliteration, and purpose...or at least that's what was pretended in this fun episode where Aaron is sarcastic and Dave is confused. But hey, we all learn somethings. My Bad Poetry Episode 8.13: "Office Job, Penguin, and 2009 Journal Entry (w/ Rachel Turney)" Rachel Turney has four books coming out in 2026. You can follow all her on Insta @Turneytalks and watch Poetry (In Brief) on Youtube @TurneyTa...

Michael VanCalbergh makes an historic third appearance on the show, bringing one from his past that he just can't seem to put down. A college professor's sweater vest becomes an inside joke to a class and young Michael just had to make it... awkward. Good thing Dave and Aaron are the most mature of hosts or this episode would have just become one long sophomoric gigglefest... It isn't that is it?? O dear. Episode 8.12 "I named it after your favorite clothing (w/ Michael VanCalbergh)" End P...

This week Dave and Aaron welcome Todd Dillard on the show. Though they could have probably done a whole half an hour discussing snow and shovels, they did end up discussing Todd's weird poems. What the hosts could never have expected was how That Thursday turned into the Present Tense. Enjoy the ride! End Poem from a Real Poet: "Present Tense" by Todd Dillard Todd Dillard is a poet from Texas now living in Pennsylvania. He is the author of Ways We Vanish and the chapbook Ragnarök at the Fa...

What a better way to start a new year than to remember that life is pain? Perhaps a poem that goes Full Moon on you when you least expect it! Nina Prater dug through her back catalogue to find the utter gems when it comes to bad poetry. Hope you enjoy this episode as much as much as these three did. My Bad Poetry Episode 8.9: "Samsara, Alaska Radio, & Barnacles Feeding (w/Nina Prater)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Every Summer" by Nina Prater Nina Prater works in sustainable agriculture ...

Is it enigmatic, melodramatic, or just plain problematic? Listen as Dave and Aaron try to navigate a treacherous imitation of a Joni Mitchell text provided by their guest Erick Garske. Then they all fall into a parallel universe that is either a utopia or dystopia and the lack of clarity may be the reason its on the show! My Bad Poetry Episode 8.7: "Photo Stock & Parallel Poetry Universe (w/Erick Phillips Garske)" Erick Phillips Garske is a Pushcart nominated poet, with the published chapb...

The poems started out as one may expect...then Dave and Aaron found themselves faced with a poem of a very different nature. They kind of forgot the original goal was to record this episode on Halloween... but Kristin didn't! :) My Bad Poetry Episode 6.8: "The Doves, Waterline, & Fall is the Best Season (w/Kristin LaTour)" End Poem from a Real Poet: "Easter Sestina" by Kristin LaTour Kristin LaTour is a teacher at Joliet Jr. College and the founder of the Aurora Writers Workshop. Her wo...

After an unplanned hiatus Dave and Aaron return with Rory Philstrom aka the Dungeon Master Pastor. But rather than lead the podcast through a campaign, Rory leads them through three poems spanning nearly 20 years. All in the 21st Century though. My Bad Poetry Episode 8.5: Counter-Me, The 21st Century, and a Draft of a Eulogy (w/Rory Philstrom) End Poem from a Real Poet: "I live my life in widening circles" by Rainer Maria Rilke Rory Philstrom is a pastor, spiritual director, and DnD Dun...

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:...

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 Banks My 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 work...

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 Silvestri Charles A Silvestri (Tony) is a world renown lyristis who has worked with some of the most influential choral c...

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 ...

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: “...

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 Taylor Byas is a nominee for multiple Pushcart and Be...

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 Katie Manning is a professor of writi...

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 Matthew E Henry publicat...

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) ...

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! Su...

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 chapboo...

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 Risha Nicole is a poet in Kent, Ohio. Her full length poetry collection Without a Sound is available...