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Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry
Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry is the first, the best, and the biggest collection of teen angst poetry ever to be published. Inspired by the popularity of her interactive website, editor Sara Bynoe has compiled the definitive teen angst reader. Divided into 12 categories, including I am Alone and No One Understands My Pain and Obvious Metaphors, this book is for anyone who has ever written truly terrible, meditative, or self-indulgent poetry. Actually, this book is for anyone who survived being a teenager.
All of the poets featured in this collection are now adults, living happy, angst-free lives. However, for this special book, they are willing to reveal excerpts from their old tattered notebooks or leather bound journals. Along with the poems, each poet has included a short introduction, giving background information for each work. As Sara Bynoe says, looking back on teen angst poetry brings people together in a "poetry reading meets stand-up comedy meets AA" sort of way.
All of the poets featured in this collection are now adults, living happy, angst-free lives. However, for this special book, they are willing to reveal excerpts from their old tattered notebooks or leather bound journals. Along with the poems, each poet has included a short introduction, giving background information for each work. As Sara Bynoe says, looking back on teen angst poetry brings people together in a "poetry reading meets stand-up comedy meets AA" sort of way.
- GenresPoetryYoung AdultHumor
199 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 10, 2019
Now, despite being a one time member of my schools poetry club, I’m not a huge fan of poetry. Besides, all I did was write haikus about Yoda being the sickest rapper of all time, but that’s not my point. My point is that, when I was asked to read a book of poetry for my English class, I naturally gravitated towards something less serious, something that was outright making fun of the poetry that takes itself too seriously. That’s how I ended up with Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry by Sara Bynoe, which was exactly what I was looking for.
Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry is the ultimate collection of all of the horrendous, awful, edgy poems written by angry teenagers who hate their parents, teachers, and society. The collection encompasses a vast range of different poems, from love poems to hate poems and beyond. Accompanying each poem is a short blurb written by the author about the story behind that particular poem, explaining how it came to be or its aftermath.
With Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry, you’ll get everything you expect. You’ll get such a variety of just outright horrendous, edgy poetry that you won’t find in any other collection. It’s really great to just sit back and glean some joy from perceived suffering of our past selves, which, in hindsight, wasn’t as bad as we thought. I guess it’s hard to call the book “good,” since all of the writing is abhorrent, but it is really enjoyable, which is what counts.
In terms of negative aspects, the book is kind of repetitive, featuring many similar poems within it, which can make it a bit of a drag at times. A lot of the poems themselves are boring to read, but this is by design, so it’s definitely not as bad if you account for that aspect. Either way, it’s still poetry.
Overall, I’d recommend for anyone looking for a fun, light read to just laugh. No deep thought is required, so you can just take it in and enjoy yourself at the expense others. Obviously it’s no life changing experience, but it’s not trying to be, and it’s great for what it is.
Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry is the ultimate collection of all of the horrendous, awful, edgy poems written by angry teenagers who hate their parents, teachers, and society. The collection encompasses a vast range of different poems, from love poems to hate poems and beyond. Accompanying each poem is a short blurb written by the author about the story behind that particular poem, explaining how it came to be or its aftermath.
With Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry, you’ll get everything you expect. You’ll get such a variety of just outright horrendous, edgy poetry that you won’t find in any other collection. It’s really great to just sit back and glean some joy from perceived suffering of our past selves, which, in hindsight, wasn’t as bad as we thought. I guess it’s hard to call the book “good,” since all of the writing is abhorrent, but it is really enjoyable, which is what counts.
In terms of negative aspects, the book is kind of repetitive, featuring many similar poems within it, which can make it a bit of a drag at times. A lot of the poems themselves are boring to read, but this is by design, so it’s definitely not as bad if you account for that aspect. Either way, it’s still poetry.
Overall, I’d recommend for anyone looking for a fun, light read to just laugh. No deep thought is required, so you can just take it in and enjoy yourself at the expense others. Obviously it’s no life changing experience, but it’s not trying to be, and it’s great for what it is.
January 27, 2008
I fully confess that I am the dubious owner of a thick black book full of angst ridden poetry from my younger days. This book brought that all back and made me laugh at how serious I used to be. A relatively slim volume filled with poems about love, life, death and the other oh-so-important subjects that plague teens it is a fun read. I did cringe at a few points as it reminded me how unoriginal I was even though at the time I thought that I was the only one who ever felt that way! It was great to see others thought the same and that as adults we can laugh at the turmoil we were in back then.
The only negative points I had was that I felt a little too old to relate to the specific posts surrounding famous people or sexual activity (I swear we weren't as active when we were that age - thus probably illustrating further denial on my part)as these were mostly written by people still in school in the 90's.
The only negative points I had was that I felt a little too old to relate to the specific posts surrounding famous people or sexual activity (I swear we weren't as active when we were that age - thus probably illustrating further denial on my part)as these were mostly written by people still in school in the 90's.
November 9, 2013
Why five stars? Because it has caused such total amusement and reflection from myself, my family, and friends. Oh, oh, oh, such BAD poetry is in this collection. But reading it out loud will bring you back to when all those intense emotions needed some kind of outlet. The best part of the book is the little blurb before each poem from the now-adult author trying to remember why they wrote it all those years ago.
A funny, funny book.
A funny, funny book.
April 7, 2016
When I used to teach creative writing, I had the misfortune of reading some really bad poetry. The dilemma was how to critique the poems without shattering the writer's emotions. This collection celebrates bad teen poetry. What makes it even more fun is that the authors provide biographical context for each poem, and the editor has sorted the poems into categories with descriptions for each category. I truly laughed out loud at some of these.
November 28, 2011
the mini-epiphany i came to from reading this book is that i really want to start writing teen poetry!
May 15, 2008
I thought that this book had great poems. They were very interesting to me. I loved them.
June 26, 2024
When you're lovelorn and miserable ... when news about pestilence, war, famine and death isn't making you feel better ... when Billie Eilish couldn't begin to understand your pain ... this book is what you need. Or it might make you feel even worse, I don't know.
The best bad teenage poetry suggests a deadly serious Ogden Nash, or maybe something by William McGonagall if he'd been feeling it *puts hands on heart* here. The samples in "Teen Angst," submitted to Bynoe's website by those responsible for them, are grouped according mainly to cause of agony (bad romance, "Carrie"-style shunning, realization that world is awful, etc.). Not all of them will earn a response like the one attributed to Oscar Wilde on reading "The Old Curiosity Shop" ("One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing"), but there are some high low points.
The Whitney Houston wannabe:
The Hallmark trainee:
The questioner, who may have taken Journalism 101:
The sensitive soul:
Each poem is introduced by a short memoir from the poet, recalling the circumstances in which it was written. If only more famous authors were so considerate.
The best bad teenage poetry suggests a deadly serious Ogden Nash, or maybe something by William McGonagall if he'd been feeling it *puts hands on heart* here. The samples in "Teen Angst," submitted to Bynoe's website by those responsible for them, are grouped according mainly to cause of agony (bad romance, "Carrie"-style shunning, realization that world is awful, etc.). Not all of them will earn a response like the one attributed to Oscar Wilde on reading "The Old Curiosity Shop" ("One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing"), but there are some high low points.
The Whitney Houston wannabe:
Ieeeeeeeeeeeeeeei remember you! Ohhhhhhho You!
I remembern youhoooooeeeeeeoooo Ah! I remember
Youhohoooo oowooowooowooowhoo [continues]
The Hallmark trainee:
I really am not bitter,
best wishes to him I send
I just hope he doesn't mind
that I'm dating his best friend!
The questioner, who may have taken Journalism 101:
Who am I?
What am I?
Why am I?
How am I?
Where am I?
You can tear out my heart
Smash it
Eat it
Burn it
Bury it
And it will still live
For it is made of stone
The sensitive soul:
Don't come to me
To cure your itch
You beef-witted rancid
Whorebag bitch
Cause if you do
I'll dig a ditch
And throw your runty
Garbage ass in it!
FUCK YOU!
FUCK YOU!
Each poem is introduced by a short memoir from the poet, recalling the circumstances in which it was written. If only more famous authors were so considerate.
April 14, 2021
I hate poetry.
Seriously. Flat out hate it. Hate writing it, and it gives me a headache to read.
So why is this a five star?
Because it's really BAD Poetry. And that's the point. I'm supposed to laugh at these attempts. And for the most part, I did.
(The section about wanting to die did not make me laugh, which I think is a good thing, but it's a short section so...)
Seriously. Flat out hate it. Hate writing it, and it gives me a headache to read.
So why is this a five star?
Because it's really BAD Poetry. And that's the point. I'm supposed to laugh at these attempts. And for the most part, I did.
(The section about wanting to die did not make me laugh, which I think is a good thing, but it's a short section so...)
July 12, 2019
I thought a few of these were really good actually...anyway this inspired me to dig up my own teen angst poetry, and holy wow, there is...a lot. And it is so bad and so hilarious. Shoutout to this book for helping me rediscover it all.
April 19, 2023
I did not relate to any of the poems in this book. I thought it was a story and it didn't end up being one. I guess that's what I get for choosing the first thing off of a shelf
April 14, 2011
By far and away my favorite book of poetry. I've never been one to really get into prose, which is probably why I love this self-indulgent bullshit so much. The things that were important when you're a teen are just so insane when you sit back and think about it now it's almost unbelievable. These poems really demonstrate that fact so vividly. Not just the whining and complaining, but the genuine pain we all felt at some point are all so well illustrated that it brings back all those emotions and allows you to laugh at them. It's a healing tool as well asjust downright funny.
March 5, 2008
This book changed my life!
April 3, 2008
Funny look at the angsty tripe we write in our teens. I did laugh out loud.
June 17, 2008
Made me laugh out loud. I really wanted to dig up my own folder full of really bad poetry from my teen years, but was almost to afraid of what I would find in it.
January 7, 2011
Witty, but if this hadn't been given to me as a gift, I doubt I would've bought it for myself.
it contains examples of 'emo teenage poetry' some of which are fairly funny.
it contains examples of 'emo teenage poetry' some of which are fairly funny.
September 26, 2010
It was a really powerful moving book. I would recommend it to the age of 13-17.
October 27, 2013
Hilarious!
July 5, 2014
straightforward. have someone read this to you in a cemetery on a nice day. favorite word pairing: misery and disagree.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews