Death to dishonest art

what are you really hiding from?

I have heard a lot of bad poetry. Yes, sometimes poetry is bad because the rhyme scheme is so simplistic a four year old could have written it. Sometimes it’s too complex and convoluted that I have no idea what the poet is actually saying. Sometimes there are too many gimmicks and cheap jokes that I lose interest and respect for the piece altogether. But above all, the most common reason writing is bad is because it is dishonest.

Now before I go on, I recognise that people join writing circles and attend open mics for the community aspect. Hobby writers want to meet like-minded people, make friends, and read their poems over a glass of merlot on a Tuesday night. These spaces are beautiful and necessary, and have served a purpose during a specific time in my life and for so many other gigging poets and writers. These spaces should remain judgement free, to build up the confidence of new performers, and a lot of the time act as a stepping stone to more professional work. Where my distaste for bad dishonest poetry comes from is in professional events and national slams amongst writers who are actively trying to make it their career.

I am tired of hearing poorly written on-the-nose wordplay that makes no actual sense, spat into a microphone, with crowds roaring as if something profound has been articulated. Our attention spans are being ground into ash, meaning good art is being mistaken for art that is easy to digest. Audiences expect spoon-fed metaphors and we keep feeding this beast, encouraging bad writing with every ‘say it again’ when nothing has actually been said. I want to feel something. I want to hear what you have to say, what you think about the world, about love, about life. I’m not being pretentious, amazing writing can be plagued with spelling errors and two syllable words, it is the dishonesty that makes it bad, not the imperfection.

Human herd mentality hears positive responses to bad writing and replicates the praise, skewing what is popular with what is actually good. We cheer when we hear others cheering, and we only cheer because meaning is served on a silver platter, when it barely takes a brain cell to decode exactly what the writer is doing. Clever, meticulous, truly great writing is subtle and sparks complex thoughts. Writers hide behind what will get them the instant gratification and noise, but are too scared to bear their soul for their art and potentially leave a crowd speechless.

Listen, I have fallen victim to this too. When I first started writing and gaining some notoriety for my work in the London poetry scene, I became reliant on the validation from crowds at open mics or social media views. I wrote so much bad poetry, because I thought it’s what people wanted. I emulated popular poets to try and write like them, but all it did was pull me further and further away from what made my art special: honesty. Your individual experiences and how you see the world, is your unique selling point and sets you apart from the masses, so why are you dimming this?

I may sound judgemental, but it is so glaringly obvious when a writer is disconnected from their work and writing purely for commercial success or social media views. The reason why people consume art is to be entertained, yes, but entertainment is grounded in a resonance with the art form; everyone wants to feel seen, to feel heard and to connect with writing that shines a light on what it means to be human. This is what the highest form of art does, and the only way to achieve this as a writer is to look inward at what human experience you can breathe into your work. A lot of the time dishonesty and inauthenticity doesn’t lead to genuine success anyway, it is not the way to gain actual notoriety as a writer.

I am friends with many poets and writers who have gained significant commercial success, with social media posts going viral leading to book deals, headline shows and tours, EPs, and so many more amazing opportunities. Some of these writers I adore, because I see glimmers of myself and my life experiences in them. Some others I may not be a fan of personally, but I respect their work, because it is honest. Their work may not be for everyone, but that’s the point. Their art doesn’t resonate with me because it’s not supposed to, they are writing for those who see the world in the way they do, who share the same wounds and humour. To expect your art to be universal is naive. If you want every single person to like your art, you will dilute your honesty into creating something palatable, rather than creating art that the right people will find absolutely insatiable.

Dishonest art is unsustainable. Sure, it may be a shortcut, but cultivating a true fanbase for your writing takes patience and consistency. It is so much easier to love what you write and find a sustainable readership when you are not expending energy playing a role. Commercial and social media success might come by playing into what you think people want, but what then? You create a writing career grounded in dishonesty? Is that worth it? Everyone I know who is a writer started writing because it was a way to express themselves, to figure out their feelings, to make people feel less alone, to make people laugh, but sometimes this initial intention gets lost along the way.

It is the same in fiction writing as well as poetry. Characters, plot and genre are all coloured paints used on a canvas of storytelling, but when you strip it all back, all of the best novels shed light on very human, relatable experiences. It doesn’t matter if your story is set in a mystical realm or a faraway planet, talented writers can make even the most ridiculous situations real and honest, that is what writing is all about.

If you are a writer and you find it hard to be honest, it may be time to ask yourself why. I’m not saying you have to lay all your trauma bare for the world to see, but if you’re serious about being a writer you need to know your voice, your audience, your strengths. Without this, you art will float directionless amongst the masses of mediocre, or indeed bad, writing that’s out there. If you just write for fun then hey feel free to ignore everything I’ve said in this article, but consider how fun it is to create art so far removed from your inner voice.

There are some tricks of the trade to get your art to reach more people. An enticing hook at the start of a poem is the best cheat code to increase the likelihood it will be picked up by algorithms and draw a listener in, and writing about current affairs or grounding poems in metaphors that are funny, accessible or clever is great too. These tricks aren’t necessarily dishonest, they are commercial vehicles. Writing with a listener or reader in mind is what separates hobby writers and career writers, but there is a fine line between playing the game, and cheating yourself. You can set yourself up for success without losing integrity, you just have to be intentional. Your honesty is your superpower, just make sure you use it as a force for good.