Megan Fox's Poetry Book Made Me Genuinely Angry

So, Megan Fox wrote a poetry book. Since I saw the collection making headlines, I thought I'd give it a chance. Little did I know how riled up it would make me. Join me in this video essay and I'll tell you why this book made me so livid. #meganfox #poetry #literature #writing

0:00 Intro--Megan Fox wrote a poetry collection
1:49 Length, contents, titles, and preface
3:29 The first poems
4:24 Page printing
7:07 Biblical and mythological motifs
8:34 Repetition
11:03 Concrete poetry
11:26 Subjective notes
12:48 The price
16:58 Final thoughts and advice

Editor: Khabi Javan

Music:

[dalellll]

i really appreciate that you still treat people seriously and with respect even while criticising some of their work. it's soothing and encouraging.

[jello]

I haven't read the book but based on your critique here, it sounds like her main issue is inexperience. Someone like Amanda Gorman has a lot more practice expressing herself in poetry and these are Megan's very first published poems. If her writing was released in a low or middle tier journal, it probably wouldn't stand out so much, but due to name recognition she skipped a bunch of steps and she's playing in a field she's not ready for.

Regardless, I AM glad someone recognizable in the pop culture sphere is talking about the therapeutic value of writing poetry. If she's truly passionate about the art form, maybe she will improve into a great poet.

[Su-mxix]

When you mentioned how difficult it is to have depth in such short form, I immediately thought of Bashō’s haikus which left me in tears as their beauty and tenderness completely disarmed me. I wish people who want to capitalise on the “insta-poetry” trend would at least examine haikus, maybe then they wouldn’t feel like mid tweets :/

[juliatoumaki]

"love is a killing spree" is honestly such an interesting line i would've loved to see a longer poem really digging into it! i feel like it would genuinely be very good. one of those lines that you hear and just sticks in your head. really agree with the part about shorter poems struggling to be impactful. they can (as almost anything can) be done right, but they so rarely are, especially in this type of poetry. a reccomendation i have for a short-ish poem, though, is shiva by andrea cohen. its one of the poems that got me into reading and writing poetry in the first place, and i feel like it utilizes its space super effectively. great video, i really enjoy hearing your insight!

[zzzzojka]

It's refreshing to see a gentle respectful good faith review of personal art created by someone people love to hate! I'm glad algorithm pushed your video into my feed, so here's my comment of support ❤

[hrikh]

I must admit, I kind of enjoyed the titles at the bottom — after reading the poem, I had an image of what the author wanted to say, and getting to the title made it feel like finding the answer to a riddle. However, it only worked with two poems at 8:35, I had fun drawing parallels between what clearly was Megan's experience and biblical motifs, but in other cases it felt rather unnecessary.

[elisatantari]

The most calm and thoughtful review of a celebrity poetry book
Roughest drafts: “I didn’t expect to get so riled up”

[juannaym]

I like how you talked about the price a lot. You can't divorce the price from the product, they are deeply linked, a product needs to justify the price it comes at

[octoburr]

i liked the addition of real life footage of the tangible books being picked up and moved around by you while you’re talking about them. also showing the receipt while talking about the price made a difference for me. i don’t know why, but i appreciate that you showed it for real.

[iamaperson]

I was a bit anxious coming into this video. I'm not a fan of Megan Fox but I felt nervous you'd tear apart and bully something apparently personal to her.

Instead we got a sound and reasonable review that was heartfelt. You've earned another subscriber!

[frflstne]

this was an excellent, level and kindhearted critique. i was worried that as a man you would react defensively and take it out on her, so i was really happy to hear you were empathetic to some of the insights you got from this. i feel you met her book with compassion, and that you genuinely care about writing. such a captivating listen. well done!

[joesiemoneit]

The thing i find most interesting with celebrity poem collections is that there really is potential. But it looks and feels rushed. Like a first draft, glossed over by publishers with a recognizable name

[pandora]

As for the book- you can resell it. I'm sure some fan of Megan would buy it. We all need to do that more often. Resell the books you don't need or read, buy used books. There are so many used books out there in perfect shape that look like new. There really is rarely a need to buy new books. Especially when it comes to classics.

[levibee]

I thought your critiques of the writing were very good, not because I've read the book and agree that they apply, but because a lot of them were things that I took mental note of to pay attention to in my own writing.

[Thrivinginthespotlight]

Her poetry may not be "technically" good and the cover may be awful but honestly, i feel like when i read her poems especially the more compelling and creative ones, i hear her and i feel what shes saying. This may be a first dip into poetry for her before she dives in. Shes also a celebrity who loves glamour so i can understand if the overall vibe is off and doesnt come across as deep and feels more like a glamourous woman wearing a punk rock studed jacket but i dont doubt that she feels these things that shes writing about. The poems feel authentic albeit certainly extrememly self referencial but not unrelatable either.

[agirlonearth]

As a woman who has always been told she is beautiful, yet faced sexual abuse throughout my literal entire life, I truly understand her perspective. To be a trophy, a prized piece, you are only treated as such. I don't mind her repetition as I struggle with echolalia and feel that they hit in the right way at times. Personally, I wouldn't purchase the book but I appreciate her giving me this comfort. Even if I was rich and the world loved me, it wouldn't protect me if I needed it to.

[jackss]

I was really encouraged that you approached her poetry with a level head and respect. It's so easy to tear apart celebrity poetry and very popular on youtube. It's also clear that you have experience writing and a bit in poetry so that shined through the video. Keep up the good work!

[KoruDesuKa]

This made me want to write again. I used to love writing poetry, until I somehow became convinced it was irrelevant. It wasn’t Content.

Poetry is eternal; it will surely outlive content.

[Bowiegirl]

I so feel like this poetry book had so much potential, but the lack of showing throughout was just so jarring. Show me, don’t tell me- I live by that rule since taking Creative Writing I and II in college. Anyway, amazing review and I love that you focused so much on the objectivity of the content rather than the author. My CrWr professor always told us it’s about the art, not the artist. Thanks for your lovely and authentic review. Handled with so much love and care for the written word/poetry.

[fatimaazhar]

I actually really like "leading a lamb to slaughter", the title implies an innocent lamb being led to ruination. And the entire concept of being forced to become the redeemer, the healer of others, i think it resonates with many of us. Being abused and misused for our kindness and still being expected to "be the bigger person". its one of the struggles of being an empath, people put the weight of their traumas unto you expecting you to become their unpaid therapist "hanging the weight of your salvation around my neck like a noose"