I remember seeing a wallpaper on myspace once that said, "Shakespeare hates your emo poems." I thought it was funny, of course--its hyperbole and cruelty. And snobbery. It is meant to be an admonishment to any writer of poetry that does not measure up to what is supposed to be
Great.
That sentiment is pretty problematic, though, since it suggests there is an absolute authority over what is beautiful and valuable in poetry. And anyway, poetry is supposed to be about "making it new" like that mean old man said back in the day.
Speaking of whom, it is also important to consider who is doing the "supposing" when one is looking for ways to appreciate and value art. In mainstream culture, "Great Literature" is often used synonymously with "Required Reading." So the people who tell us whether or not the art we create is worthy of attention--at least in our imaginations--look like this:
Old, stony, and authoritative; ghostly pale, blank-eyed, and judgy. And a little bit like Tim Curry in Disney's "
The Three Musketeers." And if people who look like that are the people we're taking our cues from when seeking Great Works, it is no wonder we sometimes forget--or don't know--that Shakespeare also looks like this:
And this:
Anyway, it is understandable and good that Shakespeare should be molded into a stern, disapproving father figure for would-be poets (or would-be critics, I should say). That is not what I object to here. The problem with that slogan, "Shakespeare hates your emo poems," is that it can't be true.
Surely, it can't be true of the man who wrote Romeo--the emoest emo to ever emote--and Juliet (O! Happy dagger!). Or Hamlet, which is a play about a man who no one even understands. Because he's different. He has real feelings! And grieves for his father, hates his phony mom and his stupid step-dad, contemplates suicide, and fetishizes death.
Shakespeare does not hate my emo poems. Even if he thinks they're silly.
He loves them.
Well, anyway, because it is (at the time I am going to date this post) Shakespeare's birthday or death-day (creepy) or whatever, I decided to let the bard himself pick the poem for the day, and he chose a poet he found on myspace, amid a plethora of other poets who are writing their hearts out, people, and who should be appreciated. This one's name is "
poetman," or Steven Anstey, and he publishes the
Shakespeare's Monkeys Revue (I suspect Shakespeare found the site by googling himself).
If you have a look at poetman's
blog, you'll see that he writes a lot of poetry. Some is silly and some is brilliant, and some it's hard to tell. Which is just the way that Shakepeare likes it. In fact, it was hard to pick one, but Shakepeare grabbed the first emo-licious poem he could find. It is called,
"Fashion Statement," and begins with the line, "Hate is a comfortable pair of trousers."
You want to read it now, don't you? Well, click on the link and you'll go directly to the poem right there on poetman's myspace page.
If in your perusal of the internets, you come across great--or interestingly un-great--self-published poetry, please post a link here or send me a note about it. These people must be heard!
