Bad Poetry Day
August 18, Monday
History of the holiday
Bad Poetry Day was created in 1994 by Tom and Ruth Roy — an American couple known as the authors of many unusual calendar holidays. They wanted to create a day when everyone could feel like a poet, even if they had never written poetry or believed they had no poetic talent.
Traditions of celebration
On this day, people write humorous, absurd, or deliberately clumsy poems and share them with friends, colleagues, or on social media. Poetry evenings are often held where participants read their “masterpieces” and laugh together. Some use the holiday to “practice” rhymes without fear of making mistakes.
Ways to celebrate
* Write a short funny poem and send it to a friend
* Organize an evening of reading “terrible” poetry
* Try to rewrite a famous poem in a humorous form
* Keep a diary of rhymed lines, without worrying about rhythm or beauty
Interesting facts
* Bad Poetry Day often becomes a source of creative ideas: sometimes unexpected successful images are born in “joke” poems.
* The holiday helps to overcome the fear of a blank page, as the main goal is not quality, but the process itself.
* Many literature enthusiasts celebrate it as the opposite of Poetry Day, where reading and creativity are strictly oriented toward high art.