Bo Burnham's Poetry is Disappointing

[@Notquitekris]

I’m just upset he didn’t call it Boetry

[@jademiori]

Wait this is so funny

[@wabai_879]

@@jademiori yeah

[@frnkensteingirls]

comedy

[@omnithis9214]

Did I just find a Glass Beach enjoyer?

[@Notquitekris]

@@omnithis9214 YEAS

[@ames-inthe-grass]

i’ve heard the audiobook is better cuz then it’s his voice and you can hear his pauses for comedic timing

[@ThePlumAbides]

Yeah some of them are straight from what. and don't work as well if you don't get him speaking them

[@ilovezuko80]

Can confirm audiobook is better

[@saggguy7]

but it’s written, so i don’t think it should take hearing the author read it aloud for it to be good

[@ThePlumAbides]

@@saggguy7 it was definitely a poor choice to include them in the book. I feel like he used them for filler but from the video it seems like most of the book is filler

[@ilovezuko80]

Grace g agree completely it was disappointing. Gave it three stars but it probably only deserved 2.

[@tethfrute3569]

Waiting for Gabbie to use this an excuse to say she’s the same level as Bo Burnham

[@magnificloud]

I was like, yeah, critiquing him isn't BAD but he's like... an actually likeable person D:

[@kshirin0298]

oh god no,,,

[@anonomus8709]

I think Gabbie’s pretty much done with KZbin. Which is good, because I’m sick of talking about her. I don’t dislike her. I’m just bored of talking about her.

[@papercopy1692]

My thoughts exactly

[@amirrhodesve791]

her new book looks soo good shes gotten loads better

[@japansace]

That poem "Incomparable" was WAY funnier when Bo said it in his show--mostly because he just left a super awkward long pause, quirked an eyebrow, licked his finger and flicked the book to the next page without further preamble.

[@kait711]

Exactly!! All the poems he said on stage had an added punchline that could only work in stand-up and therefore couldn’t be in the book, which really comes down to these poems being in an awkward format that’s too confined for his style.

[@MissCaraMint]

@@kait711 I'm wondering if an audiobook version of this would be better

[@loganchitty]

@@MissCaraMint it exists and I can confirm it’s better.

[@abbyhoffer]

for the “i want to beat you to death” poem, it’s done really well live. he withholds the title of the poem until the end. after finishing a passionate reading of this poem, he says, “that one’s called ‘dad.’” muuuuuuch funnier in his show and super disappointed to see he didn’t find a way to incorporate that joke into the book!

[@smeliot2862]

literally adding something easy like “happy father’s day” at the end would have at least alluded to ANYTHING but even the picture fails on that one n it just comes off as way too violent and weird

[@SoVidushi]

The keyword being disappointing- his shows set the bar really high for himself, so anything that doesn't meet the mark could feel underwhelming. I hope his poetry isn't actually bad, because I really love and admire Bo.

[@ariagrace8117]

I actually quiet like his written poetry a lot! Though perhaps it differs from person to person. I have a collection of poetry that I love the most and at least three of his poems are in that book, right next to Tagore's. Mind you I'm not talking about technique, he was quiet young when he wrote it, so that might be a bit unpolished.

[@pickle5666]

Problem is that his comedy is very heavily dependent on his delivery and being able to control the room. His "prolonged eye contact" bit works on his set but wouldn't work in a book, or wouldn't work if you were to do it.

[@SoVidushi]

Thanks for the heart Rachel!

[@SoVidushi]

@@ariagrace8117 wow thanks for sharing that, maybe I will consider buying it someday. It seems like it might not be objectively good but it is enjoyable.

[@SoVidushi]

@@pickle5666 haha imagine of he just titled a page prolonged eye contact and had the illustration of eyes staring at you. I would lowkey like that lol

[@atinity6749]

I'm embarrassed to admit, but I like those not rhyming rhymes so much. Everytime Olaf sings in Frozen that song that goes "winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle, but put me in summer and I'll be a ---- Happy snowman!" I lol too much. Is there a word for that? Like when there is a rhyme but it's intentionally subverted? It's different than just writing a poem that doesn't rhyme at all. If there's not, someone should come up with a term for it.

[@alexplantum177]

"A subverted rhyme, teasing rhyme or mind rhyme is the suggestion of a rhyme which is left unsaid and must be inferred by the listener." First line of a Wikipedia article about Subverted Rhymes

[@alexplantum177]

It's also used in chants for sports and stuff, I'd say usually to censor certain words deemed inappropriate, like the cheer chant example in the article

[@psychopathetic5341]

Now they're going to bed And my stomach is sick And it's all in my head But she's touching his .... chest

[@xadielplasencia3674]

I do love them, but I think is cuz I know the rhyme, if it doesnt have it at all then I usually hate them.

[@anotheridentitycrisis354]

@@psychopathetic5341 ooooooooooooh took me way too long to get that

[@aks799]

As an American I found that “I’d not delivery, then DiGiorno” line rly funny, it made a rly good ending to the poem in my personal opinion.

[@Sunny-ek8sx]

It's a funny line but I don't think it totally fit with the rest of the poem.

[@lottie9645]

me too that slapped

[@ko379]

I didn’t like the poem overall but I liked that line bc it’s ingrained in Americans. So it’s a comment on both consumerism AND it’s implying there’s no differences between a prayer and a jingle - both are stuck in your head

[@andysv8217]

the "I want to beat you to death" one was funny on his show becase at the end he said "Thank you, that's called Dad" Also, on halloween it would very cool if you'd review some horror or trhiller poems!

[@meaty1658]

I’ve gotta say as much as I don’t follow the guy, I’m not surprised that his writing doesn’t quite measure up to his spoken word performance quality

[@Catz1a]

Thats true. Its all about delivery. Since Bo is such a great writer when it comes to making songs or jokes, so it makes sense if his ideas in the book dont hit the same

[@ChaoticCottonClover]

About the Our Father poem, i think that poems like that, or writings in general, work when it either is a gradual descend, where it starts happy or positive and at the further you read the weirder or darker or more critical it gets. But he made a good point early on and then then it went milder and was more of a simple joke you tell your friends at 2AM. If he made for example the bread joke earlier and it gradually gets more into actual critique, it would've worked better in my opinion. If it is executed well of course, which I get is hard in this case, but I hope you get the point

[@tethfrute3569]

I haven’t read the book but I feel like so much of his comedy is through his delivery so maybe they fall flat when written down

[@jennaukkonen]

While I understand the commentary on the audiobook being better and a lot of the comments saying "he does this in standup", perhaps the marketing of the book is therefore slightly inappropiate for what it is - instead of poetry, maybe it would be suited to be a manner of stage-play poetry, which would lead the reader to be more understanding of the importance of a live performance in connecting to the book?

[@claire9060]

Wasn't "I want to beat you to death" called "Dad" when he performed it live?

[@jdjohnson1591]

As an American, your pronunciation of the word "DiGiorno" made me want to start a third war with England.

[@okestperson6016]

I had to read the poem cause I had no idea what she was talking about

[@beththedarkmage3359]

Why England specifically? Can we move to Scotland and be safe? Lol

[@ishanafondekar6334]

I love Bo’s comedy but I’ve never read his poetry so I’m completely open to what Rachel has to say but I may be a bit biased towards Bo

[@richarddweckcomedy]

It’s just comedy still it’s not actual poetry

[@TheClobo2001]

I enjoyed Egghead a lot more as the audiobook, I think part of the comedy is in his inflection and delivery

[@sophiesmiles5891]

The thing with Bo is that he relies completely on his flow and comedic timing. Most of his jokes wouldn’t be funny if they were said by someone else, which is why he’s so irreplaceable when it comes to his type of comedy. Writing a book was not a good idea.

[@max1mum0verdr1ve]

This is actually better than a lot of KZbinr books.

[@ArturGlass.C]

Yeah that's normal he's a literal writer. He scripts his shows. A lot of youtuber do script their videos but they're not the ones who publish books.

[@sourwitch2340]

She has said in the video that part of the reason she disliked the book as much as she did was because she had higher expectations from him and it really didn't live up to his normal work.

[@uui219]

That's a loooooooooooooooooooooooow bar.

[@katieb8380]

the poem Perfect sounds like something Bo would be making fun of in his song Repeat Stuff

[@broth7905]

Yeah I think his delivery of that poem is sarcastic like "ooh look at me Im being sweet" lmao he wasnt being serious in that poem.

[@Anna_Vegan]

@@broth7905 Maybe, but his sarcasm wasn't exactly obvious. If you're gonna make a sarcastic poem, you should at least make it obvious.

[@Wiggimus]

I tend to forget that advertising can be regional, so I was initially surprised that you didn't know the "it's not delivery, it's DiGiorno" part, especially since it's been their slogan for what feels like 20 years at this point 😅 But then that quickly changed to me wanting to cheer you on for not knowing it lol

[@everynewdayisablessing8509]

It's not about being regional. I'm in the UK and have no clue what diGiorno is, let alone their slogan, so for me as for Rachel the end made no sense.

[@thisisacrappyusername892]

In all honesty, if our father was just the first four lines... chef's kiss. I think that scathing tone would have been incredibly interesting if it was carried partly throughout, then somewhere towards the end it conforms back to tradition. And I think that's a criticism I personally have with Bo's poems as a whole, I think I get the jist of the poem in the first few lines and I expect it to have "an arc", where does it go? Where does the poem develop? Perhaps a personal thing, but if the poem does not move forward, I lose interest. TLDR- where the plot tho?

[@sakatamio726]

I love your videos and this one too, my only criticism is the meaningless "toxin" stuff on screen about the shampoos :) "toxins", as used by natural products are non-existent. the scientific definition literally means and refers to poison, and most actual toxins are illegal or very heavily regulated. I know its a small thing, but these mentions are the things perpetuating bad information. I thought you might want to know

[@Aster_Risk]

The weird thing is, I'm pretty sure Rachel knows this. She's pretty informed and approaches things from a scientific angle. I was taken aback that she would say any of that just for a sponsorship.

[@uui219]

@@Aster_Risk LOL she's not a scientist, so assuming she knows that is kind of odd.

[@watsonmelon6575]

I don't know if you'll see this, but I've been reading How to Be a Hepburn in a Kardashian World by Jordan Christy and there's a very interesting section about dating. She also wrote How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World and it's certainly interesting....

[@uui219]

Idk but it sounds like misogynistic garbage.

[@SaChibiKon]

@@uui219 I agree. What if I want to be like Kim K.? Does that make me worth less? Women have to stop competing with each other.

[@trashnyc]

I feel like this was less a book of poetry and more a book of his jokes in poem form? It’s all very Bo Burnham to me 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@ReadToMeAtMidnight]

A lot of these feel like 'blowing air out of my nose in acknowledgement I got it' type poems, and nothing more than that. I feel like on stage is where Bo really excels, and I'm glad he found that medium, I think his energy, personality and his delivery conveys so much as well as his wit and written word. Now that's he taken a step back from comedy and has expressed his desire to stay out of the limelight (that heartbreaking bit in Make Happy - "if you can live your life without an audience, do it"), I'm really intrigued to follow his writing career. I loved his film Eighth Grade and wrote about it in my dissertation, I'm looking forward to seeing his more narrative work, work that doesn't rely on sneaky wordplay or his performance. As much as I love that version of Bo and will always revisit those comedy shows, it will be so interesting to all of us to see him adapt and develop his skill, exploring new mediums for his talent.

[@uhohhotdog9150]

I'm so excited because these videos are the best, but so nervous because BO!!!! Okay, but it says disappointing, not bad. And Bo's amazing. So at some point something is bound to not reach the incredibly high expectations we have of him. We're gonna be okay, guys.

[@kshirin0298]

we’re gonna get through this 🤧

[@stellabella3337]

Thank you for being a source of strength during this hard time

[@JM-fu6vy]

LOL I agree I was also not super impressed with his poetry attempts, but we have to remember that this is not his most recent body of work either. Someone check me on this but it must have been published 5 ish years ago at least.

[@falsexgrindx378]

I disagree that the sarcasm isn't obvious enough in the middle section of "Our Father." The inclusion of the word *totally* in the line "Our Lord is *totally* eleven" is what makes the sarcasm unmistakable.

[@sweetlolitaChii]

I basically agree with you in terms of the good vs terrible poems of his. My favorite one was the girl looking in the mirror. That "Your Mum" poem type/theme was done in a way you described hilariously in Rhett and Link's video "Yo Mama Battle (Of Compliments)" if you haven't checked it out. The lyrics subvert the expectations and come up with really clever compliments.

[@Cherry-wf9fq]

I noticed that a lot of the poems you showed were actually from his show "what." But for some reason he took out the punch lines so they didn't make sense.

[@sk8erhippie13]

On the "your mom" poem, i felt that the point of it was to be a joke with the idea of a poetry book as the context. i.e. in this book of poems you wouldn't expect a childish, uninspired your mom joke. Kind of like a palette cleanser.

[@somethinunameit637]

"It's not delivery it's digorno" has become an American meme

[@lilavalentino8167]

The beat you to death poem is only funny when in his show he says the title is “Dad” after he reads the poem

[@IsomerMashups]

I actually love "Incomparable." It legitimately made me burst out laughing.

[@clammycammy7024]

one thing i think could make “I want to beat you to death” better is adding some more personal references throughout the poem, and then ending it with “Happy Father’s Day” or something like that, that would change the entire context of the poem and give you a new lens to look through

[@teagannam]

I recognize some of these poems, including some of the Bad ones, from the bit in one of his shows where he read a few of his poems. I think that bit was actually pretty funny and entertaining, so I think those were much better when performed/spoken aloud. I bet that goes for a lot of the others too.. I guess he’s just better at writing stuff for performances. Makes sense since he’s had so much more practice. Edit: The “I Want To Beat You To Death” poem is a good example of this! The punchline was at the end when he says, “thank you, that one’s called Dad.” Also, the “your mom” one was actually funny when he performed it, as it was kinda breaking the expectation he set by saying he was going to read poetry. Plus he kinda acknowledged how childish it was (“10 dollars for sex with your mother, cOMEDY”). Not saying this proves they’re better or anything, I still think it was pretty dumb to put it in a published poetry collection where you neither get the unique environment of a crowd in a comedy show, nor even the actual punchlines. Thought the context would be interesting though :)

[@maddiegeier]

Could you do Lana Del Rey's and Halsey's poetry books?

[@idothewiggle]

My favorite poems were "Ashley", "gypsy", "land of really fucked up thoughts" and "you". I think it's a very good book in its own right, even though a lot of it is not a "conventional" poetry book as you said. More of a poetry/ comedy book. Having seen snippets of egghead on "what", prepared me for what's to come, and I was actually looking forward to more surrealistic pieces like "incomparable" and "weird adjectives". I do agree that some of the poems did not live up to expectation, but i do also think that expectations of what the book would be, contributed to the disappointment. I always perceived those sillier poems, as purposely made to not be taken seriously, which I always found charming, finding their humor in their form breaking nature itself (but I guess the unironic attempts of "milk & honey" and "adultolescnese" kinda spoiled that, sort of what you described as anchor in the video). All in all, great video Rachel! Very entertaining, keep up the good work! :D

[@emmalinedebrower9062]

I feel like a lot of the ones you weren't a fan of are funny because of how he preforms them in his live shows

[@okestperson6016]

I feel like that lessens the enjoyment of the book. It’s like when Rachel was saying that you shouldn’t have to have seen a video gabbie Hanna made 2 years ago to get the joke, it should stand alone. A lot of comments were saying that the audiobook was also better, maybe he should have just sold the audiobook or put the physical book in a bundle.

[@enenenergp]

I just really liked the book, idk what to say. It’s just kind of comforting to read? Sure it’s not super deep. I really like the poem Hanged, I don’t really know why, I guess it just has like a weird vibe where it’s grim and light and neutral at the same time. Another one I really liked that I can’t just now remember the name off was something about flowers f*cking and I just remember laughing my ass off for no real reason and really enjoying reading it out loud. Edit. Hah, I found a collection of voicememos with my fav poems on them that I sent to a friend, and listening to them again, I do actually chuckle at them, some just make me feel warm and fuzzy, and some are just. Interesting. Some that I found that were not already mentioned in the vid and the comment earlier are: - gypsy (interesting) - woman (funny) - turn ons (funny) - Her eyes (warm and fuzzy) - I don’t give a f*ck (this one became kind of an inside joke with me and my friend so it holds a special place in my heart) - Convenience (funny) They’re fun to read out loud, I wish I was better at doing different voices and tones.

[@frankiemermaid2027]

i'm a big fan of his and i read the book physically and had the same experience as you, but when i listened to the audiobook i liked it a lot more

[@poprox2388]

I’m not gonna lie the first poems last line really got me 💀

[@andysv8217]

The "perfect" poem sounds like the songs he makes fun of in his "Repeat stuff" song

[@estagiariaa8146]

I was watching and at 30:45 when she read "Here's Peter. Here's Jane. They like fun. //Go Peter! Go Jane! Come milkman, come!" it cut to an ad that said "hey wassup everyone!" and I laugh out loud at the rhyme.

[@beetlejuicex3334]

27:14 i’m pretty sure he used this joke in his stand up. i think the joke was supposed to be that it was a stupid immature joke...also i think that his talent should be saved for the stage...you can’t have comedic timing and such in a book and he rly shouldn’t write poetry lol

[@TheseUseless]

This video title terrifies me

[@captain_smart.casual4789]

While I agree that crass poems often don't work, my favourite 'sweary poem' is Evidently Chickentown by John Cooper Clarke. Because the swearing is so over the top, I think it could've so easily not have worked, and yet it does work, so well

[@lenanelson9689]

Review starts at 7:52 :)

[@alicelynch7764]

I haven't read the book but I googled images of it and the poem "her eyes" stood out to me. the second half; "But they had that same strange blend of familiar and miraculous-- and they were always so nice to look at after a day of doing things". I feel it really encapsulates looking at someone you love and feeling captivated by them and how much you love them; by the way they give you a comfy, home-y feeling whilst amazing you. Staring into a fire is such a universal experience, so common yet each time it feel so special. Fire is essential and life giving, but at the same time can burn and even kill us; a fantastic metaphor for love. I thought this poem seemed really intentional and had a lot to pull apart, and really stuck with me even though I just read it at a glance the first time.

[@dakotaginesi5626]

I haven't read the book yet so I can't really comment on the full impact of it, but i do remember hearing "I f**k s**ts" in his comedy show and I absolutely loved it, it really stuck in my head. Maybe it was because it heard the rhythm spoken aloud but it's just a poem from him that i really enjoyed :)

[@Angel-hb7py]

I love your videos ❤️ English is my second language and I'm trying to introduce myself to English poetry and your videos help me a lot. ❤️

[@LJ-ft3uj]

Hey Rachel! So there’s this book my dad read to me and my older sister, called “What He Must Be If He Marries My Daughter” by Vodie Bauchum Junior and I think it would be interesting for you to read and react to it, like “Technically a Virgin”. It’s a very heteronormative book and there’s a lot in it about “protecting your daughters virginity” and dumb shit like that. But I really like watching you react to books like that and I knew of one so I thought I would suggest it:)

[@ellabella2805]

@Destroyer you = disappointment to literally everyone. just saying.

[@ellabella2805]

i don't even want a man. i like girls.

[@happy80thgertrude25]

Destroyer I’m assuming you don’t know what feminism is and you just strongly dislike women.

[@ellabella2805]

he's giving off strong incel vibes

[@ellabella2805]

@Destroyer i- no ❤

[@haileyg.7169]

a lot of these poems are 10x funnier when he's performing them onstage, I think a few of them don't really translate without the physical comedy aspect

[@RachelOates]

Yessss! Completely agree :)

[@papercopy1692]

Random but I was JUST reading his poetry for the first time and thought the exact same thing lol. Can't wait for the video

[@KneedleKnees]

Maybe this is my own bias (never been a Burnham fan), but I feel like you're being very generous with this book. At least he developed his ideas in some of the poems unlike Gabbie Hanna.

[@Aster_Risk]

She might be. It's hard not to have a bias, unfortunately.

[@alexisjy7]

Can you review Savannah Brown’s Sweet-dark??

[@radioactivechihuahua2781]

Hes definitely made for performance and spoken comedy.

[@VicereineKillbride]

I wouldn't expect you, of all people, to advertise "non-gmo" as a selling point...especially for a shampoo. Lol

[@kokopuppy57342]

Yeah I really thought she was more science based than that

[@sourwitch2340]

To be fair, it was only part of a list of things that weren't included in the product, not much of a selling point and moreso information for anyone who does consider any one in there to be relevant only shortly shown.

[@Aster_Risk]

It's probably a requirement of the sponsorship, but still feels gross.

[@kokopuppy57342]

Alicia most sponsorships you can communicate with the advertiser and say what you are comfortable with.

[@mckenziealexa5000]

Function of Beauty is trash tbh. My hair started falling out a lot more when I’d shower and they renewed my subscription twice after I tried to cancel (and charged me twice, not allowing a refund & I couldn’t even use the product bc I moved and couldn’t get my package). I’m a little salty about FoB tbh

[@kaitydidkaity6542]

The way she pronounced DoGiorno lol

[@Justrf1001]

This is the equivalent of my parents going through a divorce :((((

[@SoVidushi]

I agree

[@TheseUseless]

She isn't really saying bo burnham is disappointing, just that this one poetry book is disappointing, so i wouldn't go that far

[@TheseUseless]

@Destroyer Im guessing the joke is that that's irrelevant.

[@SoVidushi]

@Destroyer what do u smoke?

[@leahk2085]

Destroyer Maybe I’m missing something but could you please explain; Why you think this? How that relates to the conversation? I genuinely want to hear why you think wanting gender equality equals disappointment?

[@lucamannstein2587]

I'm happy for you that you got the sponsorship! But I looked into function of beauty and it seems so expensive...

[@Aster_Risk]

It is. :(

[@meganmullis5386]

This just goes to show that someone who's an amazing songwriter isn't always an amazing poet, and an amazing poet won't necessarily be good at writing music, there's nothing wrong with that. Bo has every right to keep writing poems if he wants, I just think poetry and music are two different things and should be appreciated in their own right. Even if writing songs and comedy is still writing, it's not the same as poetry.

[@emilysyoutubechannel2259]

Amen to that. You don’t have to be a master of all trades. You can be good at one thing or two, or none and be working on yourself and that’s ok. Music and poetry are so different. Like. Songs aren’t poems. But like Edgar Allan Poe wouldn’t work as a song either. And that’s OK.

[@meganmullis5386]

@@emilysyoutubechannel2259 Exactly. People always call music poetry and..yeah, in a sense, but at the same time, if you tried to publish a song as a poem, especially some of the most popular songs on the radio, it'd be called repetitive and shallow at best, but if you published a poem as a song and tried to sing it, it'd likely be overlooked because there's no song format, no repetitive chorus, the rhythm wouldn't be the same, and people would say that songwriter is going nowhere in the music industry. There are different techniques and expectations of both mediums and people who don't write poetry or music just don't get that.

[@emilysyoutubechannel2259]

Megan Mullis exactly! Like it’s ok to be good at only one thing. And it’s ok to try and fail at something so it’s all chill. I mean I can’t write poems or songs for crap. I remember I started a journal at 8 cause I read “amazing days of Abby Hayes” so like let’s not hold one another to the highest standards lol

[@meganmullis5386]

@@emilysyoutubechannel2259 Yes! Let's just appreciate people for what they can do and not expect them to be amazing at everything. I'm glad that Bo tried poetry anyway though, and I'm sure the audiobook was a vast improvement compared to just a regular reading. Also, a lot of poetry is just skill, so if you want to do it, just work at it, and if not, that's okay too.

[@emilysyoutubechannel2259]

Megan Mullis also so much poetry (if not all art) is like personal preference! I’m a total Edgar Allan (Allen?) Poe fan but I also loved like lobe poems. Stuff that isn’t all flowery and romantic is usually lost on me because I lobe the flowery and romantic. That’s the best thing of art. We can all view it differently.

[@annabellelondon7801]

I had a really random dream last night that you were my best friend, but you were also Crowley from Good Omens. Anyway, great content, looking forward to more!

[@shakebeforeusage4568]

If you want love then u should have lowered your expectations

[@ampersandcastle1091]

I’m English and I had Biff, Chip and Kipper instead of Peter and Jane books

[@CherokeeWalters]

TW graphic violence, abuse at 35:00 - 36:22 btw everyone

[@meganabbott7711]

I didn't know much or really any of Burnham's work when I read this book and so I didn't really know what to expect. I think I was 13 when I read this book and I found it pretty funny because I was so young and the poems 'fuck' and 'your mum' were kinda funny at the time so a couple of years ago when I reread it, after maturing and knowing some more of Burnham's work, I was really disappointed that most of the humor and fun that I'd had stemmed from my young age and from my lack of experience with comedy which is actually funny. I also remember thinking that the quality of the poems was so varied that I genuninely believed it was a book compiled of different poems by different people (maybe teenagers and young adults) and couldn't really work out why some poems were much better than others

[@sara_daria2]

Wasn't beat you to death in one of his shows? Im sure there was something like that and there was also a punchline. A lot of these dont work because they're not read in his voice and comedic style. Many of these aren't poems but they are certainly something, right? So what are we supposed to call them?

[@JM-fu6vy]

Yes the punchline was “thanks this poems called Dad”

[@jscullane1]

Rachel eats pizza She likes not delivery She like DiGiorno

[@hyrumforstrom980]

A major issue with parts of the poetry is that onstage he had a punchline but for some of these poems he takes away the punchline

[@junimo-hexed]

"I Want to Beat You to Death" reads like a bad version of Johnny the Homicidal Manic. Which I kind of do recommend checking out. I personally think it's a good comic if you want some societal existentialism mixed with teen angst and gore. Also if you want a somehow toned down version of Invader Zim.

[@ninjaturtles12121]

i have to admit the DiGiornio pizza line was mildly funny i def chuckled a bit it's played a lot in commercials here

[@khouloud4843]

Halsey will be releasing a poetry book in November and it will be really cool if u read it and maybe made a video about it 💕

[@BrianaLynn7]

the style of the book reminded me of "where the sidewalk ends" a bit which we all remember with fondness most likely from our childhood but you should review that to see if it holds up

[@AA-ml4gd]

can we talk about sirens cause seriously what the hell is that. not sure what he was trying to accomplish there but it’s disappointing seeing it come from a person who has expressed his disgust towards child pornography and the overall exploitation of young minds on the internet.

[@Wake-up..thisIsAllJustADream]

I remember seeing a TikTok where gabby Hanna said that you “hated bo burnham” but in the video you clearly said “I’m a huge Bo burnham fan”

[@RachelOates]

And the whole other video I made about why some of his song lyrics are, and I quote, ‘genius’.

[@DannietheSWAMPY]

I have bad ADHD, but managed to sit through this whole video 😂👌. Your analysis is making me really want to get more into poetry

[@hoiayla]

The video start at 7:54 , she talks about shampoo before

[@NyahCatherine]

I’m so excited to see you sponsored??? idk like you deserve it all your videos are great and i wish i could help support

[@kaylarandolph1968]

I don't think Instagram poets are all bad poets. I think they've capitalized on a genre that's in demand, which I have to give them credit for. Also, are you familiar with Button Poetry? They publish collections of poems by spoken word poets. Some of the collections are great examples of poets who are just as talented when performing as when writing on the page. I'd recommend "Helium" by Rudy Francisco, "If My Body Could Speak" by Blythe Baird, and "Date and Time" by Phil Kaye.

[@Garrison_the_Barbarian]

Rachel, I had pretty much the same reaction to these poems as you did: mixed feelings. Some were good, others were okay, and the rest were deplorable. It makes me worry about my own poetry and whether or not I’m straying in that direction, or have strayed that way in the distant past. Everybody has potential and everybody has room to improve. Whether or not they do? That’s up to the individual.

[@TheLugiaSong]

I hate to say it but I kinda liked the vending machine one. It's not a poem and I think should have been in a different book, but I really love those sorta quirky small illustration w few word books (does that genre have a name?) if the illustrations are done in a style I like.

[@allisonpatino6114]

bro he has a song called "lower your expectations" and you just did not listen

[@brettmarlar4154]

As a musician, I can say that sometimes one note can actually say more than 20. There was a time where Blues-rocker Stevie Ray Vaughn was playing with one of his idols Albert King. Stevie, looking to try to impress Albert, plays this truly ripping guitar solo with technique for days, only to be completely blown off the stage with a solo of one note. Sometimes we have a tendency to over analyze things and not take them for what they are. Some times they're just random things that need to get out of our heads. Such as the I Want to Beat You to Death poem. I can't help but feel that he's trying for a Denis Leary sort of vibe. Check out Denis' song "Asshole" or his film The Ref to get an idea of what I mean. If course this poem doesn't give any context as to why he wants to bludgeon the poor soul which makes it harder to understand why he went down that dark road. Or perhaps he was looking to exorcise a proverbial demon that a lot of comedians and musicians struggle with by just letting it spill out on a page. I feel you on the vending machine one, but then again, it could've just been a metaphor for a day that he was having. I look at works like this in the same manner as I view musicians like Justin Bieber. Is he great like Queen, King Crimson, Phil Collins, or Rush? Absolutely not, he's not even the nearly stages of a pimple on their collective bums. But if he opens a door for someone to appreciate or study music, then he's done a good thing. Now whether or not Beau sees himself as a Yeats, or Blake, or if he's only trying to cash in on the whole "I wrote a book of poetry" thing, I cannot say. If he was aiming to open that door to people who never appreciated poetry for them to dig deeper and give the more technically proficient poets a go, I couldn't say because I don't know him, or his motives. But if it does lead to more people seeing poetry as an accessible art form, then he's done something good. For some people these "lesser quality" poetry books are just the first steps for people going down a road of greater understanding if what this new-to-them artform truly is about. Then, perhaps, that'll see this video and seek out the poets you mention here, or perhaps they'll go another direction. That's the beautiful thing about art is that it's completely subjective to the audience. Would I see Justin Bieber as high art? Not in a billion lifetimes, of doing Keith Richards amounts of drugs. But to some people, he is. Who am I to judge?

[@Hellbitch17]

I’ve wanted to try function of beauty for a long time now but have always been hesitant about it. I ordered it today thanks to you!

[@maja2509]

please be careful when using Function of Beauty, I've been seeing a bunch of vids these past couple of weeks of people talking about how it contributed to their hair loss :/

[@kyrasan4916]

Little sad you didnt look into 'Hanged'. Its definitely an odd one structure wise, but it definitely made me feel somethings.

[@gabriellerust1247]

i think my least favorite things about Burnham are highlighted in his poetry. All of "hot takes" on society is just stuff like "consumerism bad" or "beauty standards bad". He phrases it like these are all epiphanies that he alone thought of , which comes off as pretentious. (Don't get me wrong, i do like his songs overall)

[@fall4wisdom552]

I really appreciate your channel, we don't agree on everything, but I really appreciate how palatable and well thought out your thinking is. Hope you're a role model for many.

[@ihatemickiegee]

i think what's more annoying than anything else at this point is EVERY POETRY BOOK NOW IS USING THE SAME FORMAT (SAME FONT, LENGTHS, SKETCH STYLE, ETC) ... i went to barnes & noble one day to look at the publishers on all the instapoetry type books and they all had the same publishers, same fonts, same cover formats, same sketch styles, similar covers, etc. it was so cringey to me, you shouldn't be able to look at a publisher and go "all i have to do is this and i'll get published", it shouldn't be that easy or nuanced. i'm not talking about BB on that second half of what i said, but he used the fucking font, and the filler shit like you said. BUT THE FONT. IT'S UGLY (not implying he used the same as gabbie's, idk if this is a newer release of his or if gabbie took the font from HIM, but i just don't like it lmao)

[@JM-fu6vy]

This book is many years old, Gabbie definitely “was inspired” from him. She even says she is the biggest Bo fan out there.

[@thisisacrappyusername892]

I quite like the listen poem! Might just be me reading into it, but I can see it as an insult, or as a take on humility (listen to others), or some comforting advice on not having to go to great lengths of perfectionism because nobody cares about you really. My personal background though!

[@scarletstarlet773]

Tbh my first time encounter with egghead was when i was watching a video of him reading it live. And it was just like what you said about it - dissappointing. I really like his comedy in songs and standup, so i was expecting something i would enjoy. I've never read the book but i'm glad i haven't - when you were reading "your mom" in the video, all i could think was "why would someone like bo put his name on something like that"

[@happymaskedguy1943]

If you rely on your celebrity to achieve publication in the world of written poetry, it probably won't be very good. Not a rule, but close enough. Personally I'd prefer to support dedicated poets who don't write as a side cash generator or vanity project. That's where the real talent lies.

[@malavika3231]

1. i completely agree that a lot of the poems lack polish and are ostentatiously bad, but i think that’s part of the appeal. his brand of comedy is quite crude and random, and it juxtaposes really nicely with those heartfelt moments (“ashley”). 2. the way the book is structured as a whole isn’t really discussed here. i thought the flow was nice and it had me appreciating poems i would have dismissed otherwise. 3. i don’t believe that bo’s absurdist, satirist brand of comedy stops on the level on individual poems. i thought of the whole book as a sort of parody. some poems are well-crafted, but some are almost an affront to what we’d consider poetry. you’re right in that a lot felt like filler, but i think i dislike that about bo’s comedy in general: sometimes it feels like a bit much. i would say that this book gave me the same sort of vibe as his shows-there’s a lot to distance the viewer, but all of a sudden you’re being reeled in and shown something sincere. the ebb and flow makes it interesting, and real. overall, i’d disagree with the book being disappointing. i think it’s pretty much what was to be expected-outrageous and entertaining with a skein of sincerity. his shows aren’t particularly thematically tight, and his brand of comedy is very much jumping from one thing to another, trailing us on with half-baked ideas, all of a sudden bringing in something ornate and heavy. you’ve done some wonderful close readings, and i would love to see an equally considerate evaluation of the book as a whole

[@kenthefele113]

His poetry isn’t bad per se, it’s just better when it’s spoken out loud with the proper comedic timing. A lot of Egghead though just feels like low-hanging punchlines like you said. When Bo does try to make a serious poem though (rhyme unintended), he can be quite good.

[@bi_cycle]

This is so sad, I love Bo and I hate to see him producing this. In regards to the "beat you to death" poem, I think it's supposed to be edge humour. A style renowned for being pointless and unfunny.

[@andysv8217]

That poem is in What and it's funny because and the end of the poem he says "Thank you, that's called Dad"

[@bi_cycle]

See that's funny, because theres a punchline. If that was in the poem it would improve it.

[@broth7905]

I see this poem as more of an addon to his special "what" because more than half of those poems have some kind of gimmick in delivery or a punchline and the overly cliche ones are said sarcastically, so I take "What" as the "main" place to get these poems from, I guess, and if you really wanna have them in written form you could buy this.

[@JM-fu6vy]

Feel free to still be disappointed, but I agree with the commenters who said it’s more of a companion piece to what., or at least better executed as a performance piece (i.e. audiobook). My expectations are also tempered with the fact that it’s not his most current work. It was published like at least 5 years ago now? He produced another comedy special (Make Happy) that was profound and funny. And Eighth Grade, his first and most recent movie, was a masterpiece in my eyes.

[@rievans57]

Poetry is not easy. There is a craft to it. Writing words on paper does not make you poet.

[@dariosilvestri473]

The illustration for "Listen" looks actually amazing. I don't know the idea of something crafted to fall right in the edge of something you don't wanna fall into gives me chills

[@bethanykindsvogel6543]

i think people are trying to make Egghead a little bit more than what it is. Just because its poetry doesn't mean it has to be deep or meaningful they can be dumb and silly and still be poems. I loved Egghead almost every poem because they made laugh and i think that is enough.

[@Cherri_Stars]

The poem structures and artwork are a clear parody of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and poetry books by Shel Silverstein. Similarly to the Peter and Jane poem, many Americans' introduction to poetry was Shel Silverstein. That being said, I don't think it adds anything to the crappy poems in the book. They're still bad. But that's a level of parody the British readers may have missed.

[@beththedarkmage3359]

The problem is, it's a level of parody anyone not American (and maybe Canadian, I'm not sure) would miss. Yet the book is sold internationally. It closes a lot of doors for a lot of people when it doesn't have to be that way, which is a shame.