The Godfather of Terrible Poetry: JJ Redick

Yes, JJ Redick. While he isn't exactly part of the Poetry elite and isn't soon to enter the hollow, er, hallowed halls of The Paris Review, JJ Redick has developed a readership rivaling any poet of the last 100 years. ESPN and Sports Illustrated have taken the time to feature his work, and, well, he deserves additional exposure, albeit in a browner shade of light, if you will. JJ Redick the poet is the inspiration for Stinky Poetry:

My life story is read in poetic stages
I was once weak-minded, now I'm courageous
The cause and effect of a thousand actions
The mathematical breakdown of micro-fractions
It's difficult to fathom the coming of the rapture
What if I awoke in an empty pasture?
Suddenly every ounce of passion had been depleted
And all my determination had been defeated
The rain pours, my tears fall
The pain subsides, I stand in awe
A lightning bolt strikes, I feel a sudden energy
Thunder clouds approach, I can't run from destiny
A tornado tears me down, but I will stand again
My life is a hurricane, but I'll weather it to the end

Gosh, I too hope it will end soon.

My Poems Stink

Welcome to "My Poems Stink." You will find some of the worst "good" poems coming from the plumbing of professional American poems. We here at "My Poems Stink" are particularly interested in New Formalist(TM) Poets, but, ultimately, the avant garde isn't safe, either. Consider this an investigation of why American poetry is dominated by incredibly boring, bourgeois, irrelevant, and desexed writing. We at "My Poems Stink" would like you to send us your favorite nature poems and confession poems from America's Poetry Elite(TM). I recommend perusing journals such as Poetry, Paris Review, Ploughshares (please beat those poems back into swords, god how we all need all the help we can get) and any other journal that might be better employed as kitty litter with a bit of shredding. Happy hunting.