Bitchiness - An Ode to Flarf by Sharon Mesmer

This week, I had the privilege of sitting down to Sharon Mesmer's Annoying Diabetic Bitch. The first poem actually made me laugh out loud. I quickly called my husband over and recited the poem to him, emphasizing the cruder words and making a real show of the kind of material I was assigned to read. After the initial shock of what I had before me wore off, I continued on to the next poem, and then the next. After that, I had to put the book down and take a walk. I found the poetry to be a little daunting and slightly offensive, which isn't something I'm used to finding. After my second attempt of choking down a few more poems, I decided to do a little research into the whole flarf poetry movement. Then, in an effort to mimic a flarf poem myself, I googled: "how to write flarf."

I stumbled across this article online: The Truth About Lies: How to Write Flarf.  It's a very interesting read, so if you have some time, take a peak! Basically, it delves into the world of Google sculpting (something I fully intend on trying), and other flarf-inspired exercises.

Also - I found this Youtube video, if you'd rather hear poetry than read it. It's mighty entertaining.

One of my less enjoyable bitch-reading experiences would be "Atomic Bitch Wax." The lines: "I wish you were Ronald McDonald and weighed three hundred pounds. Then I would rape you," "I'd like to rape him for making me be born white," and "I would like to rape her, though/me too" make my soul cringe. Although it's hard to delve into why exactly I found these lines and this poem really hard to digest, I'll try. I can handle the cuss words and ignorance against race, culture, and religion, but rape is just not something I can find humour in. Aside from this soul-wrenching poem, the rest I found tolerable.

I guess to sum up my bitch-reading experience, I would have to say that each poem sounds to me like a stress-relieving rant. It sounds like a conversation two friends would have over a glass of wine (or a cup o'bitch) while complaining about people, jobs, media, etc. Although it's humorous and carries a hefty shock value, I found this type of poetry could only be handled in small doses. I don't think I could find myself curling up on the couch for an evening with this book inches from my nose.