We all remember what it’s like to be a teenager whose every emotion is heightened and blown way out of proportion. A break-up becomes the end of civilization, the never-ending battle with the parents becomes an updated version of when those British guys fought those other British guys for independence. We also remember what it’s like to put all that exaggerated angst to paper, hiding it away from prying eyes, while believing that what was just written could very well be an award-worthy poem, or at least a hit song. Years later, we realize we were wrong about that. All that dramatization was quite simply bad writing.
In Vernon Lott’s documentary, Bad Writing, he explores his own embarrassing past, when he pounded beers and typewriter keys all night, churning out one crappy poem after another, all the while utterly convinced that he was an undiscovered genius and the heir to the glory of the Beats. A sample poem from this time in his life reads:
God I’m drunk
and frightened
as I write
the tears well
and the battle continues
He doesn’t hesitate to share videos of the drunken poetry readings from his 20s nor does he hide the fact that he optimistically preserved all of his poetry in his mother’s basement for his future archive. The present-day Lott has since eaten some humble pie and accepted his status as an anti-hero, who, in showing how bad of a writer he was, also shows that being honest about your imperfections can prove more honorable than being perfect.