'Sorry I Was Not Your Mother' Drawing Some Flak

Oh boy.

I have officially found the No. 1 poem in the poetry community that I indisputably, hate.

Typically, I can appreciate poems that are a bit on the nose or even confronting and controversial, but the obnoxiousness of this, coupled with simultaneous massacres taking place in Ukraine right now, is far too overwhelming to set aside for the sake of aRt.

Let's begin with the superficial stuff: like Ken, I also noticed that weird enunciation she does like Amanda Gorman, where they kind of tie two words together of different sentences (as in, the last word of the first sentence sounds connected to the first word of the second sentence which is said very quickly after the last word, if that makes sense)? It's so weird. Why do annoying and mediocre-at-best poets do that?

Also like Rachel, I really struggled to finish the poem. I was quite blown away (and disgusted) by McCord's choice of words. I thought they were full of judgement and scapegoating, especially since both Putin's parents died before he was president, according to that article. McCord seems to forget that she's alluding to very real people here, and a dictator of all things. Which means if Putin's mother were alive, this woman is essentially telling her that she did a shit job raising her son. Ken's right- how dare she? This would barely be an issue if McCord didn't make Putin the subject of her poem and instead focused on the life and psychology of tyrannical leaders in general, then sure. It's more of an imaginative piece then, and she could take the poem wherever it leads her- whether that be passive or aggressive in tone. But then again, if it weren't about Putin then it wouldn't have gotten the whole world's attention- which is the problem. That indicates (but doesn't prove) that this poem is more about McCord than it is a commentary on a literal war and a homicidal leader. Somehow, she managed to internalise this horrific event and cast stones at a dead mother at the same damn time. If that isn't being a privileged Hollywood starlet, i don't know what is. (Maybe Gal Gadot, actually, coming to think of it).

In terms of her performance, I personally did not find it to be exceptional. Perhaps I'm distracted by her weird cadence but it didn't come across as authentic to me. I think Marc said it perfectly: it's 'a bit overdone, with a bit of fake warbling in her voice.'

So those are my thoughts (albeit, a bit strong...) so I'll wrap it up here.

(and yes, Ken. I got the reference XD)

I was rather taken aback that she tried to string her reasoning up by saying that Putin's mother wasn't supportive enough. Like how the hell does she know?! Not sure if she is one of those far-left feminists or not, but it is the 21st century and both parents are involved in the raising of a child. I was kind of offended by this blanket statement she implies that only a mother is capable of modeling love and positive support. That aside, however, we know nothing of Putin's family structure, so how can that be a reliable source of influence. Hitler had a loving mother and he tossed her aside like a rag doll. So goes to show that motherhood isn't the sole reason for someone becoming so vile and evil.

I do appreciate the sentiment that she is trying to make here, but boy... is it way out there. I even took the liberty of researching Ms. AnneLynn a bit, and overall, she seems to be a genuinely decent person. She does a lot of fundraising and humanities services. I don't know her on a personal level, but on the surface, she seems like a woman who's attempting to use what influence she has to preach that classical 60's hippie love mentality. Save for the use of psychedelics.

I wish these Hollyweird folks would get it into their head they should not be dramatising the atrocities in the world all the time! I think they all think they are Charlie Chaplin in The Dictator or something...

For reference:

I think the poem is naive, childish and self indulgent. Her delivery is OK I suppose, a bit overdone, with a bit of fake warbling in her voice.

As for cringeworthyness I would put this at 100%.

I don't want to bring too much politics into this, but to believe that what is going on in Ukraine at the moment is because Vladamir Putin was not loved as a child? Pleeeease!!!

Ugh. Gabbie Hanna. Let's not talk about her.

As for AnnaLynne McCord, I couldn't even finish the video. I did not like it in the slightest. If we're going to talk about poetic technique, it's flashy with a lot of obvious rhymes. There's nothing remotely interesting about the imagery, either (to me, anyway).

As for the subject matter... It's not a unique idea, writing from the perspective of someone's mother. One of my favourite poets, Sierra Demulder, has a poem called Mrs Dahmer in which she describes discovering that her son is a serial killer which some might argue is of a similar vein to Ms McCord's poem. The article raises an interesting point, though. This poem isn't just describing current events from his mother's perspective. McCord is implying that his mother is to blame. If she had done everything different, the world would be different.

As for the criticism of the poem, there have been several discussions on the forum regarding poets' place in the world. Eg. Am I a bad poet if I don't write a poem about current events? There were some interesting twitter comments that critiqued the broader trend of celebrities sharing poems and open letters and such during crises just to, well, 'trend'. I'm not familiar with McCord and I'd be interested to know if she shared any resources in how the public can help the Ukraine crisis.

Interesting topic, though!