Bad Poetry Day (18 August) – A Truly Liberating Day For Writers

On this very special writers’ holiday, you can let loose all the poetic corpses in your drawer and receive kudos for how bad it is. Isn’t that great? Only on 18 August because this is Bad Poetry Day. Here’s how to celebrate and why.

Bad Poetry Day (18 August)

Bad Poetry Day is the best writers’ holiday ever. It can work wonders for you. It’s the most liberating, most inclusive, and most fun day ever in your calendar as a writer. It might even change your perception of what a writer truly is.

What Exactly Is Bad Poetry Day?

Bad Poetry Day is mainly celebrated in the USA, but it should be celebrated worldwide. Why? Because everybody can join the celebrations. Everybody can write bad poetry. This is the one day in the year when you can be the best – by being the worst.

There is some debate about the origins and the year of the first Bad Poetry Day ever. Most likely, it was invented by Thomas and Ruth Roy, two serial holiday creators from Pennsylvania / USA. They have invented (and copyrighted) more than 80 quirky holidays. As writers, this is the one holiday we just can’t get enough of.

Why Is It A Day For All Writers?

If you think, Bad Poetry Day is just for the poets among us, you’re quite mistaken. Let’s say, poetry isn’t your thing. Great! It means you probably suck at writing poetry. See how this holiday is made for you?

Second, just because you’re very bad at one thing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Being a bad singer doesn’t mean you can’t sing in the shower. The awful singers sing in the shower all the time and they love it!

That’s the idea behind Bad Poetry Day. Anybody can celebrate this holiday simply because you don’t have to be good at writing. You don’t even have to call yourself a writer in the first place. This is one of the most inclusive of all holidays!

You do need to do some writing to celebrate. And you need to do it badly. But what if you’re just too good at it? We’ve got you covered. Please read on.

How Do I Write Bad Poetry?

Writing is all about making decisions. You start by deciding on what you want to write about. Well, on this day, you can just start rambling. Waffle away!

Then, writers usually decide on genre and form. To avoid procrastination, writing teachers advise to simply make any decision and to stick to it. It’s a whole lot easier to write a cheesy romance once you’ve decided not to write an action-packed horror story. But on the 18^th of August of every year, you don’t need to make that choice, either.

Normally, writing poetry comes along with rhyme, metre, metaphors, a rhyme scheme, symbols, etc. Well, you can ignore all those literary terms on this day, and just let fly.

Today, all writers are liberated from any convention of their craft. All they need to do is string one word after the other. But if you still don’t feel confident, please read this post with 10 Terrible Tips To Write Bad Poetry.

Why Is It Important To Write Badly?

Doing something badly is incredibly liberating. All that pressure that comes with striving for success is taken off you. The more you suck at writing, the more celebrated will you be today.

This liberation will also take away the biggest source of procrastination, impostor syndrome. Ever heard of it? Chances are, you’ve probably experienced it.

Impostor syndrome is a mental pattern that prevents you from writing (here is a blog on this and other fears). People suffering from it find it hard to even start writing because they are afraid to fail. They think that if readers and family members look closely, they’ll find out that they are devoid of inspiration, talent and originality. In short: these writers have so much self-doubt that they believe they are impostors. Does that ring a bell?

Fear not, help is on the way. Bad Poetry Day is the one day in the year when writers can wear all their inadequacies like a badge of honour. You can finally come out of your writer’s closet and declare that you will rock this day. It’s so important that you do!

Only when we are not afraid to fail, can we learn. It’s how all babies learn. All schoolchildren, and adults, too. Nobody is born a perfect writer. But we can become a pretty good one. To do that, you need to start somewhere, right? Today’s the day.

If you’re still not convinced, then just do the math. If you write one poem per day for a whole year, then chances are, you won’t write 365 perfect poems. So what? Because chances are, that among those 365 poems, there is at least one that is good.

Ray Bradbury once did the same kind of math for writing short stories. Here’s what he said: ‘Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.’ See?

So now that we’ve established that we love Bad Poetry Day, let’s look at some ideas on how to celebrate it.

How Do You Celebrate Bad Poetry Day?

Chances are, there won’t be a big parade in your hometown. But then, that’s not necessary. Here are a few tips.

With your writers’ group:

Gather some friends and make it a goal to write especially rotten poems on this day. Read them to each other and award a prize for the worst poem.

At your library:

Maybe your local librarians are interested in this day as well. You could ask if they could provide you with examples of what they consider bad poetry. You could even host a workshop.

On your own:

Write a ridiculously bad haiku. Haikus in English literature are a poetic form that depends largely on the number of syllables per line. That means you could write a haiku, meet all the genre requirements and still write a terrifically bad poem.

Here’s a hilarious example from a man called ‘John’:

‘Piratical Poem
Yarr! Said the pirate,
Sailing on the seven seas,
Donuts in his beard ‘

On your own:

This one will require no inspiration of your own, so you get bonus points. Take your favourite poem by a celebrated poet. Then, change words to turn it into the worst poem ever. It’s sure to be a winner on Bad Poetry Day!

The Last Word

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on Bad Poetry Day. It is the day every writer has been waiting for. If you’ve never done it, then now you can finally declare that you are a writer. Today, nobody will expect world-class literature from you. But you can expect a lot of fun today. Happy writing!

By Susanne Bennett. Susanne is a German-American writer who is a journalist by trade and a writer by heart. After years of working at German public radio and an online news portal, she has decided to accept challenges by Deadlines for Writers. Currently she is writing her first novel with them. She is known for overweight purses and carrying a novel everywhere. Follow her on Facebook.

Bad Poetry Day (18 August) – A Truly Liberating Day For Writers