May 16 2008
Worst poems in British history sold for thousands
The poems of William Topaz McGonagall, commonly referred to as the worst poet in British history (or even the world), were recently sold at auction for the equivalent of $12,900 CAD.
McGonagall was a Scottish weaver and actor who also tried his hand at poetry. Until his death in 1902, he wrote about 200 poems which lacked strong vocabulary, poetic imagery and proper rhyming structure. The combination of these qualities led to such unintentionally funny poems as this, an excerpt from The Tay Bridge Disaster:
- Oh! Ill-fated bridge of the silv’ry Tay
- I now must conclude my lay
- By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay
- That your central girders would not have given way
- At least many sensible men do say
- Had they been supported on each side with buttresses
- At least many sensible men confesses
- For the stronger we our houses build
- The less chance we have of being killed
Despite McGonagall’s widely disliked body of work, he has become something of a cult hero. The poems sold at the Edinburgh auction for more money than a set of inscribed Harry Potter books, which went for a mere $12,100.
7 Responses to “Worst poems in British history sold for thousands”
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I saw this on an online news page and thought what a pity it was that there was no audio - I’m pretty sure that with an exagerated thick Scottish accent, liberally laced with a tone of doom and gloom, this would probably be dark humor!
Still it gives the rest of us who write bad poetry something to think about - perhaps any future grandchildren I may have could come into an inheritence from granny afterall! LOL
Katie-Anne
I wish there had been audio too, now that you mention it!
Maybe this explains his popularity - there’s hope for the rest of us!
Oh gods, that is funny. I need to find more of his work.
Me too!