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"damn this is so bread baugette" might become one of my frequent expressions of disappointment now hsshhs-

A little note to all you aspiring poets. Use repetition sparingly. Saying the same line over and over and over for emphasis can often do the opposite, especially if it's supposed to be a meaningful or important sentence.

Oh boy even the first page is painful to witness. As an Indian, I don’t mind that a lot of our ancient beliefs have become more popular, but I really can’t stand people (usually rich privileged people) making it a trendy thing to “cleanse your chakras”. I agree with your take. It also pains me when people mishandle topics of mental health/ abuse. On one hand I want every victim to be able to express themselves! But on the other hand, it feels very… poorly handled? I don’t know. I’m glad to see your nuanced take too!

I feel like the fancy words is something of a rebellion against her public perception, as she's seen as something of a "dumb blonde" minus the blonde and this is a desperate attempt to be seen as something wise.

The intro does sound extremely self absorbed. Like all the “I’m an empath” influencers that actually have an awful history of offensive behaviour. It doesn’t feel genuine at all.

Your poem reminds me of my favorite - The Spider and the Fly… "Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly, "'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I have many curious things to shew when you are there." "Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again." "I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high; Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly. "There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin, And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!" "Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said, They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!" Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, "Dear friend what can I do, To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you? I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice; I'm sure you're very welcome-will you please to take a slice?" "Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind sir, that cannot be, I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!" "Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise, How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes! I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf, If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself." "I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say, And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day." The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den, For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again: So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly, And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly. Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing, "Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing; Your robes are green and purple-there's a crest upon your head; Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!" Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly, Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by; With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew, Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue- Thinking only of her crested head-poor foolish thing! At last, Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast. He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den, Within his little parlour-but she ne'er came out again! And now dear little children, who may this story read, To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed: Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye, And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly. (Mary Howitt, 1829)

A note on the “why I wish I was gay” one. She’s actually openly bisexual so it’s not necessarily as offensive as it first may seem but she definitely should have elaborated more. Perhaps she means she wishes she wasn’t attracted to men at all which would be an interesting poem and relatable to some queer people, it’s a shame that this isn’t actually explored in the poem.

Happy birthday Rachel! 🎉 I wanna say thank you for being you. I know I'm just a viewer but I read the community post yesterday about the explanation of your new tattoos and i am so sorry you've had to deal with that. I love the tattoos btw. I'm just glad I'm subscribed to you. You deserve happiness and you didn't deserve the crap you had gone through. I hope year 31 will treat you well. I'm sorry if I'm killing the positive vibes but I just wish you the best

Hey Rachel! As someone who also over explains (not sure if I'm autistic, but I do have a bit of a family history of it), I feel like that's not something that you need to "fix" (unless you want to change it for you). The people who are on your channel listening to you are here because we like the things you say and the way you say them. The way you tend to be thorough and nuanced is one of the things people like about you, and I genuinely enjoy the bits of your content that you yourself consider rambling, and ive seen so many comments from other people saying they love it too. If you want to change for you, of course I support you, but we love you the way you are

Your poem was absolutely breathtaking! I have also been in an abusive relationship and the imagery you painted was a perfect reflection. Thank you so much for sharing that with us ❤

Yeah, it's a book, alright...It has pages...and words...and covers front and back... Beyond that...Yeah, it's garbage, and I'm glad that you were able to come right out and say it, as opposed to other reviews I've read where otherwise serious literary KZfaqrs twist themselves into knots trying to say something about it without blasting it to pieces. It deserves to be binned, it is rubbish.

I loved your poem and I didn’t even see the time pass, it felt like reading a book and your storytelling made it even better. It wasn’t as long as a whole story yet it gave me the same amount of emotions. Congratulations for writing it, you should be proud of your work!

I wish these people would choose to write personal essays instead of poetry. Because I understand the idea of famous women wanting to put out their own words, when their narrative is so often controlled from the outside. I think that is in its essence a good thing, it just sucks when it results in poetry that is lacking. Not saying that the essay inherently requires less skill or is less serious than poetry, but I do think it is more accessible for people who don't have as much writing experience and can still be interesting to read. Poetry is just very particular as a genre and the issue with books like this one (based on the examples you provided) is that the people who write them don't seem to know much about it or how to write it with care. (I typed this out before reaching the end of the video and just heard you suggesting the same thing haha). As a side note, it always makes me a bit sad when you say you feel like a bitch for your reviews. I understand it of course, it's not fun to have to say something negative, but watching your critiques has improved my own craft as a poet so immensely, especially after being exposed to online communities that are notoriously uncritical and derivative. I don't feel like you are ever coming from a meanspirited place, just that frustration sometimes creeps through because of your love and respect for the genre. I hope you keep making these videos because they always make me think things like "How would I write this?" or "Have I made that mistake before?" which is so hugely beneficial.

Love your poem, I was gripped by the peripheral storyline even though I understood it wasn’t literal. A little dark circus imagery sucks me right in.

46:40 the part about Romeo and the moon is hilarious because he’s literally just saying “fuck me” to Juliet 😂😂

So pleased to have another poetry analysis video from you! I know critiquing poorly written works by famous people is what draws the views, but I appreciate nothing more than the parts where you read and analyze poems that you actually love.

Rachel! Your poem was such a breath of fresh air amidst the scraps from this poetry book😂. I m so glad you chose to recite it, it's such a powerful story and the atmosphere was so inthralling and immersive. Your poetry videos really ignite my interest in the poetry genre, an interest that i had completely forgotten about since highschool. As a writer, i find it magical how poetry, when done well, can play with words to expose so many layers of meaning at once! Thank you for all your hard work, and take care!

the rambling at 29:00 is so relatable. I am not autistic, but I would say I have a unique way of communicating and it is often seen as weird or annoying. I always have a hard time deciding if it is my responsibility how people perceive me. Or if I should stay the way I am because that is what makes me unique.

Some people are saying she uses poetry as a way to handle abuse, and I would respect that if she didn’t try to sell it. Cause not everything needs to be share and if you’re trying to sell it people are gonna make fun of it if it’s bad.

Ok so the problem in the first page is one that her "healers" have correctly identified is that she's bad at communicating (this is just hot reading people foundation modules. Any medium or psychic does the same thing). So she wrote a poetry book to communicate, and apparently didn't take time to get better at communicating first...

I LOVE your poem you performed! I bought your poetry book recently (and another copy for a friend) and it was fantastic!

I love love love that you explain why the poem is bad in terms of actual poetic techniques instead of just “it’s cringe”, I’m not a poetry buff but I always feel so smart listening to your breakdowns :)

Putting all these poems as immature and angsty nails it…it feels very Jennifer’s body if Jennifer’s body was written by a 14 year old

The best way I've had poetry described as was by my italian literature teacher in highschool. For context I'm italian. She has a relative that writes poetry. I guess it runs in the family. Anyways she said that she'll stay up late thinking of that one word that's going to fit perfectly. That one word you can't think about at the moment. Basically you'll jolt from your sleep type of scene with the perfect word to fit the poem. Not scroll through an online thesaurus. I wanted to get into writing poetry in a book called *being me" where I describe the way I see myself, live my life and the way my brain works. "being me" as in how it is to be me in my body with my brain. Needless to say I've only made a nice looking simple book cover on illustrator and left it there in my drafts empty. Poetry is scary.

The Hurricane Hits England poem hit me so hard and unexpectedly. I live on the coast in the Gulf of Mexico so they're pretty common. But it's also a part of the culture. Huracan was mentioned in the poem and they are a god of hurricanes and destruction. They're terrifying but when my husband was looking for jobs anywhere in the US, I told him if it's going to be outside of Texas, I'd prefer it to be somewhere where there are hurricanes. I was joking but not really. I want something to remind me of my home and my culture.

Happy birthday Rachel! I'm sorry we made you read this, I'm one minute into the video and already laughing. Hope you are enjoying your day!

Wow, your poem brought a tear to my eye because it just so encapsulates how insidiously an abuser sucks you in, and hooks you back with sweet relieving breadcrumbs after striking you down. I sent it to my friend who has just made the decision to cut her strings and is hurting badly, but doesn’t want to keep living a life where the next pain is a given day after day. This feels like such spooky timing! Your words will help a lot of people going through (or out the other side) of controlling abuse. Thank you Rachel, I love your content💜💜

MY GOD, your poem im in love. im very big on imagery and i loved how you never left a line unchecked on discriptors and impactful actions, not only that but the your performance enchances all of those feelings

What a beautiful poem 😭 the puppetmaster. I think I have to buy your book now

i’ve never actually heard your poetry, let alone performing. i wasn’t really in the mood for good poetry and almost passed by your poem for now, and oh boy i’m glad i didn’t. i was completely pulled in to every word. i have goosebumps!!

That is such an incredible poem!!!! I'm literally going to buy your book right now!! You are soooo talented Rachel!!

Rachel, your poem is great. You should make a short of just the poem reading part if you haven’t already!

The Grace Nichols poem coming in like an oasis in the middle of a linguistic desert. 🤭😅 LOVE that one. Incredible. Love the way you read it too.

Had to pause for a break to process after listening to your "Puppet Master" poem because it's so powerful! I want to say thank you for performing that for us, not only because it's obviously a very personal subject for you, but also because it's a great learning tool for us! As an amateur poet myself, I feel like my weakest points are performance and also rhyme/meter (I prefer to write in free verse, but I would still like to have the skill of crafting rhymes). So this was very helpful for me, thank you! And also perfectly illustrates the point you were trying to make in comparison with Fox's poem. Another wonderful video, thank you so much for all your work, Rachel! I love your videos and I always learn so much from them.

I love watching your poetry videos because poems are a bit of a Knowledge Weakpoint for me, so its nice to hear someone who clearly has a huge appreciation for the artform offer critique and give advice. It's been doing wonders for my understanding of how poems work. But I have to say, hearing you perform your poem in this video? I think it's the first time I've really gotten it. Hearing the inflection of your voice, the rhythm, sinking myself into the imagery, it was fantastic! I haven't felt so moved by a piece of writing in a long time. You say you're not nearly as good as some of the more well-known poets out there, but I think that poem is going to stick with me for a long long time, and I'm so happy you shared with us :,)

As a poet, I work my fingers to the bone, figuratively speaking, to get the rhyme and meter perfect. I know poems don't always have to have that, but if it doesn't, it should have something just as good. It's terribly hard work. Even a short poem usually takes hours of intense concentration, sometimes days. So I feel a bit put out by poets who slap just any kind of ink on a page and somehow get it published.

HI RACHEL, I LOVE YOUR POETRY SO BAD, have you thought about making an audiobook? Living in Argentina makes it truly difficult and expensive to buy international books, I would love to experience your poetry through your voice, pacing and rhythm. Sending u love from Latin America!

I loved your poem. Thank you for sharing it

Ordered your book from amazon right after you finished reading your poem! I got lost in it, can't wait to experience all of your work :)

Wow I was mesmerized by your poem... I’m not one who reads/listens to much poetry but that took my breath away and gave me chills all over. Thank you for the sharing the deepest parts of your soul, you are an inspiration to all ❤️

I loved hearing you read your own poem

I loved your poem and loved watching you perform it ❤❤ thank you ❤

Thank you for sharing your poem. I have not had an abusive relationship but have witnessed friends who have, and your performance was beautiful and really welled some emotion up in me.

The art in that book looks beautiful! 😍

Your poem made me shiver. I felt it. So deeply. I´m going to write again. I have so much cramped in my head that needs to be structured and expressed. Thank you for sharing your poem and for inspiring me.

I can’t wait to see where you go with your poetry in the future…just recently purchased your “reflections on healing” and as a fellow childfree woman I really connected with “Romb”. I’m not able to see your more recent live readings since I’m in the US but really looking forward to reading more of your poetry if you ever publish any more!

Your poem left me without words but with tears. I loved it. Really great work.

I LOVELOVELOVELOVE YOUR POEMMM and I've never been into poetry at all! I find it hard to keep my attention on anything without multitasking, but I literally sat there and stared at the screen, and listened like you were hypnotising me. I adore it. Also, happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh man another celebrity "poetry" anthology thats just their Twitter posts reformatted.

im so excited and at the same time terryfied of your review of marina and the diamond's poetry book. asdhajsh i hope you review it

Your poetry reviews make me thank my lucky stars I never tried to publish a poetry book.

I looooooooved your puppet master poem!!!! Such a powerful ending, what is a puppet master without any puppets - so relatable to a previous relationship of mine, going to buy your book now hehe 😁

Rachel, every time you ramble and end it with 'but I'm rambling again' or do the ninny voices, it makes me smile. I love listening to you and I hope you keep doing these little things that makes you you.

38:38 that little voice was so cute and funny. I’ve never seen one of your videos before so idk if you do that regularly, but it just caught me off guard 😂 laughed way too hard

Happy birthday, Rachel! Thanks for sharing your excellent take on these poems, one brilliant one of your own and some others that you love! I hope it’s being a wonderful day!!

You are my comfort youtuber. So much intelligence and good vibes. I completely adore you ❤️

Your poem was so beautiful. I loved how you gave the reader/listener the opportunity to experience what you went through but without leaving them in the circus. Sometimes it's good to sit with certain emotions, but with this kind of topic and the type of abuse that was described, I was releaved and hopeful that it ended on a happy note. I don't know much about poetry but I think your a very good poet. Looking forward to reading more of your poems after I buy your book.

Thank you for sharing your poem, you are a beautiful writer, and I love listening to you read your poetry. Also, I agree with every criticism you have for Megan’s poetry. I read it earlier this year, and had the same critiques. P.s. I think we have the same birthday, mines April 11. Happy belated birthday!! Hope you had a wonderful time 🫶🏼

I loved your poem! Could have been longer honestly. I'll have to check your other stuff out! I've been watching your videos for some time now and I admire your work so much. Lots of love ❤

I was completely captivated during your poem. It really hit home.

I enjoy a lot of your videos but the poetry ones are my favorite. I find your critique helpful to improving my own writing and better understanding poetry as a whole. It's not something taught very much in schools or anywhere I can think so this is an awesome resource to have. Plus you make it really entertaining 🍞🥖

I see the moomin behind you! ❤❤❤ love

I have your book and LOVE this poem. Perfectly described my experience with intimate partner abuse as well. ❤ Thank you so much for creating it!

Your poem was incredible to hear in your own voice, Rachel. Very absorbing and emotional, you should definitely read more in your videos, especially to use as comparison with poorly executed works! ❤

I love poetry and I love hearing you talk about poetry. ❤

"My boy only breaks fravorite toys" by taylor swift or "Dear John "i feel portays abusive relationships, cleverly and in a retable way. Or "would of could should of "from midnights album. And "tolerate it "from evermore too. Thank you for covering abuse your review of should stay or should go, was really helpful. And lead to me buying the book 📙.

This was an interesting video Miss Oates

Happy birthday Rachel !! I love ur work sm and I just wanna thank u for everything really. You’re so so great and you’ve helped me sm with ur videos. You deserve a great life and I wish u an amazing birthdayyyy

Your poem.. it was cathartic. I can't put it into words. Still trying to process these feelings you made me feel. I just broke down in tears. It was heartbreaking and beautiful and it shattered me. It was so accurate to everything I went through. I can't even explain how this has touched me. Thank you. You've changed my life.

Your poem was beautiful. It was a perfect description of what those relationships are like. I wish you didn’t know. I wish I didn’t. You are amazing

I’m so glad you shared The Puppetmaster with us!! It was a wonderful narrative poem. Gotta say-I’m quite partial to circus allegories 🤩

this is so random but your jacket is so gorgeous! i need to know where it's from!

I love the poem performance! 👏 ❤

Thank you for these for these videos, they have made me appreciate poetry as an art form, only hope you make more as i have watched all your reviews multiple times. It's my birthday too today and so I hope you have a good day !

I always thoroughly enjoy your constructive critiques, but just dropping in to say seeing Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales on your shelf pleased me greatly. One of my favourites.

Looking forward to the video, but on a side note, happy birthday Rachel 🎂 🥳

My jaw dropped at your poem. I have no words, it's amazing

Happy birthday Rachel!! I’ve been wanting a good video about her poetry and im so glad you sacrificed yourself for it 😅

I don’t think I’ve ever been this early to any KZfaq vid before. Excited to listen to this vid while I’m working!

I always Love the fact that, even if it is critisism, you always try to be as fair as possible, and even give advice and be honest when you think something is good. This is not hate, and I think it is important to make that kind of content. Thank you for your videos.

I loved it, it was perfect

Your poem genuinely gave me goosebumps! The imagery of a circus with a puppet master is such an interesting and evocative way to convey this story.

tho i agree with the majority of rachel’s critiques, i feel like it’s kinda unfair/silly to dissect and compare fox’s work so seriously. she’s obviously not a poet or writer, just a celebrity making money off of what she might MAYBE consider to be art. rachel’s poetry was quite impressive tho, nice to hear it!

Wow megan poetry bad?! Shocking! I didn't expect her to be on level of William Shakespeare or Cyprian Norwid...(My fav poet. Imo best one from poland)

RACHEL THAT POEM. Amazing. So fucking good. You are really so brilliant and talented 🤍🙌cheers🥂

Hi Rachel I am doing something similar to the re-telling of fairy tails(I’m doing things to popular songs)but is your Red Riding Hood poem published yet Id love to read it. Love your videos

Thank you for taking the time to perform The Puppet Master. I’m crying. I escaped too.

I love hearing your opinions about poetry! It’s such an interesting form of art.

Is there an audio book version of Reflections on Healing? I enjoyed you reading Puppet Master!

I love hearing your take on public figure’s poetry books

I find your videos informative on a lot of levels, both about the individual people whose works you discuss but also the creative process as a whole. Thanks!

I’ve been on and off watching your videos, I find I outgrow KZfaqrs a lot or they say things that kinda get me like 😬😬 but I like youuuu Rachel this video really showcased your opinions and I stand with ur take which may be an unpopular take??

Rachel!! I love your poetry videos so much!! Thank you for all of the work you put into them. I have to ask, where is the first sweater you are wearing in this video from?☺️ absolutely adore it

your puppetmaster poem is incredible. the imagery is so clear and dread inducing. i was hanging on every word

Damn. Your poem just blew me away. That was one of your first big pieces?! Thats insane to me, I’m not really great with academia. I have dyscalculia and dyslexia which makes reading exhausting. I love audiobooks though…anyway I can’t wait to binge your channel. You break things down so eloquently and make it easy to digest. Learned quite a few things already.

I really enjoyed listening to your poem! It sounded very nice (the way you read it and the way you wrote it).

Your poem is so good! Do you have a poetry book available?

yay new video! I love your poetry analysis vids

Your poem was incredible. ❤