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.
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