Bad Poetry Night

Inspired by a series of themed open-mic nights from his college days, a novelist drops his first collection of poems.

In the 1990s, the late, great Bradford College put on a series of "Bad Poetry Nights" for their beleaguered student writers. These fast-paced evenings of literary shenanigans had one simple premise: compose the worst poem you could in five minutes or fewer, using 3–5 absurd words plucked from a hat by the hosts.

The only trouble was this: give a talented writer a set of clear ...