Nonfiction: What is “Woetry”?

If Woetry were a human...

An eon ago, when I first joined the now-defunct forum Foetry, I coined the word “Woetry,”; alas, I soon discovered there were several Woetry sites on the internet.

So much for originality.

And my definition fell pretty much in line with the kind of poems that appear on these sites.

So, then, what is “Woetry”?

In a nutshell, anything by Sylvia Plath. For the most part, I love her work, but there is a woe-is-me quality about her poems. In fact, just about anything confessional could qualify as being Woetry.

If Eeyore were a poet, he would most definitely be a woet; a cloud seems to follow him as he navigates life in the 100-acre forest.

Gloomy poetry. Lamenting poetry. Self-absorbed poetry.

I would say goth poetry would also fall into the Woetry category.

Some characteristics of Woetry:

 

1. “It's all about me.”

2. “I’m sad, and the whole damn world is gonna know.”

3. “My boyfriend left, and I’m going to do something awful...”

4. “The world sucks.”

5. Almost always written in the first person.

6. Almost always first draft, scribbled in a spiral notebook (complete with illustrations).

7. Most of the time, poorly written (a few exceptions, of course).

8. “I hate my parents, husband, sister, etc.”

9. “Nobody understands me.”

10. “Everybody hates me.”

11. “Woe is me.”

12. Almost always free verse (especially if the poem appears in a notebook).

13. Usually contains numerous grammatical errors and creative (ahem…) unintentional punctuation.

14. Purple prose, filled with unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.

15. If the movie Sixteen Candles were a poem. 

 

A lot of negatives listed here, but even renowned poets need to get this stuff out of the way before they can concentrate on their polished work.

Sometimes, Woetry gets published in esteemed journals, albeit without the highly illustrated spiral notebook – no further comment needed and no fingers pointed.

My Foetry days are behind me.