At the time of writing, I've hosted five poetry nights, and they've consistently been a blast and easy to organize. You should host one too.

What? And how to host one

The core of the event is simple:

Anyone that feels called to it can shout out a theme at random. A word, a sentence, anything goes. Think "Elizabeth Holmes", "Basil leaves", "Halloween" or "That noise you made just now". Once a topic is "chosen", hit a timer: everyone gets 3 minutes to write a poem inspired by that theme. After three minutes, pens down, go in a circle reading your poems out loud, starting with the person that picked the theme. Rinse and repeat until we run out of time. Take some breaks, etc.

Sounds simple, but it's important to set the tone right before the event. Bad poetry is welcome! If you've never read poetry, you're welcome. Even I have barely read any in my life. This event is about overcoming hesitation and putting words on a page even when it feels daunting, discovering yourself in the process, and often amusing your friends accidentally.

Be encouraging when people share. Applaud effort over results (a great life skill in general). Be openly exasperated about how bad your own poetry is. You and your friends are in the trenches together. It's a bonding experience. Discuss a poem when it feels right. Make related banter when it feels right.

Aside from this, regular event hosting conventions and skills apply, which I'll skip here.

Why it's good

Three minutes can be over in the blink of an eye. You can't fool yourself into making a good poem. Or a deliberately bad poem. You can't think about what you want to write. You can only start somewhere and see where the words take you.

Most people struggle with this at first and will write poems with a single line for their first round or two. Letting go is a skill worth cultivating! So is being less embarrassed about what comes out of brain. Even those who are better at this, or can think of a clever poem here or there, will be worn down by repeat bad poetry rounds. It's the great equalizer.

It's also a unique window into people's souls. How does their brain LLM work? How do they conceptualize of things? What's the valence of their thoughts on this day?

Example poems

Below are some poems that came out of recent Bad Poetry Nights. Strong selection bias for the better ones. In a real session, half the poems come out with only few words, no rhymes, and maybe no reason.

Bang that bread

I sit at the table, late afternoon,
my soul worked out of me, my energy unenergized,
staring at the bread in front of me.
Oh bread, where will I end up?
So infinitely less complex than me,
and yet you nourish me,
get me to pay for baking classes,
make me crouch under the couch,
to find your crumbs,

You've been grown and ground and wet and bound and fired to be ground again,
When my grandma makes her famous bread dumplings,
I remember the bread she used could have been used as a hammer,
and she used it to bang love into my heart instead.

Company Swag

You caught my eye in shades of Blue and pastel autumn hues
Tattooed on lithe and shining skin
You smiled, and I drew in
As if to wish to see that smile
Grow from ear to delicate ear –
Slowly, as I drew near
I realized what your tattoos read:
“Palantir,” they said.

My squirrel father

jumps in and out of my life
squirrels away his praise
has stashed his emotion
for many winters
but his house is air conditioned
so I never saw any of them.

I know I will find a basement one day
blow dust off a crate
and heave out the stash
only to find the emotions were mine
and in my dreams
my therapist laughs maniacally

Basil leaves

I was told, basil grows,
only on the sunny side,
but as one knows, basil grows,
happily in grocery aisles.
I was old, when I learned,
basil doesn't sprout or stay,
all the basil must decay,
if not for perfect quantities,
of care,
water,
nitrogen,
and air.