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Journal of Religion and Health
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health 4/2010

01-12-2010 | Original Paper

The Psychological Benefits of Bad Poetry

Author: Donald Capps

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 4/2010

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Abstract

The author was the founder and secretary pro-tem of the Bad Poets Society at Princeton Theological Seminary. This distinction does not appear on his official resume. The Society did not have meetings but it had a newsletter that came out several times a year comprised of bad poetry written by members of the faculty and staff. These poetic works included reflections on institutional matters. This article contains bad poetry by the author relating to such matters. This poetry illustrates Sigmund Freud’s (Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. Norton, New York, 1960) view of humor as saving in the expenditure of painful emotions, costly inhibitions, and difficult thinking. The parasitical nature of bad poetry is also noted and illustrated with the author’s own poems.
Footnotes
1
Speaking of toilets and the thought processes of a grade school kid, I have wondered whether T. S. Eliot was aware that the letters of his name could spell toilets. However, as he was a good poet, it is unlikely that the word was in his working vocabulary.
 
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Metadata
Title
The Psychological Benefits of Bad Poetry
Author
Donald Capps
Publication date
01-12-2010
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 4/2010
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9364-5

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