It’s Good to Be Bad: Julia Moore Poetry Contest Returns to Flint

FLINT, Michigan — Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I’m not great at writing poetry,
And maybe neither are you.

And that’s perfectly fine. In fact, that spirit is exactly what the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library is looking for as it celebrates its 175th anniversary with the return of the annual Julia A. Moore Bad Poetry Contest.

To honor the milestone anniversary, the library is bringing back one of its most beloved and unique historic programs. The contest, which originated at the library since 1993, is inspired by Julia A. Moore (1847–1920), known as the “Sweet Singer of Michigan.” Moore became famous not because her poetry was widely praised, but because it was joyfully bad.

Audiences came to laugh at her dramatic, sentimental, and often morbid verses centered around disasters, tragedies, and death. Yet Moore always kept her sense of humor. As she once wrote, “You have come here and paid twenty-five cents to see a fool; I receive seventy-five dollars and see a whole houseful of fools.”

“Sometimes it’s just about having a good laugh, even if you think something is bad. It doesn’t matter. It being bad is what makes it funny,” a library patron noted.

Her ill-rhymed lines and tangled metaphors were even enjoyed by literary figures such as Mark Twain and Ogden Nash. What some labeled as “bad” poetry became a source of laughter, relatability, and delight.

The library is now inviting the community to embrace that same spirit.

“It’s good to be bad!” FPL explains, encouraging residents to submit poems that may barely rhyme, include an awkward metaphor, or feature a delightfully collapsed bridge of structure.

“There are no limitations as to length, structure, or style. We are looking for funny poems with a ‘so bad it’s good’ feel,” said Janet O’Keefe, a lead librarian at the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library.

For those unsure where to begin, O’Keefe suggests parodies of Julia A. Moore’s own work or other poems as a starting point.

The contest is meant to be humorous, but its purpose extends beyond laughter. According to the library, the event is part of a yearlong celebration of its impact, service, and commitment to the Flint community since 1851. For nearly two centuries, people have walked through its doors to learn, laugh, imagine, and create.

This contest invites the public to add their own voice to that ongoing story.

Entries will be accepted from January 1 through March 18, 2026, with a winners’ celebration scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Winners may read their poems during the event, though it is not required.

The celebration will take place at the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library, located at 1026 E. Kearsley St., Flint, MI 48503. Full contest details and online submissions are available at https://www.fpl.info/julia-moore-contest.

So, while the poems may be intentionally “bad,” the creativity, humor, and connection they inspire are anything but.