Biker poetry

File:Colorado T.Sky.jpg

As with most forms of poetry Biker Poetry is found in written form. Biker Poetry is gaining in popularity turning up in your local café’, street corners, online video and radio. The genre is a regular feature in many motorcycle magazines and motorcycle rally’s.

Biker poetry is a movement of poetry that grew out of the uniquely American lifestyle of the Biker. The biker culture has grown considerably since its birth following World War 2. Some argue that it is a genre, while many state it is a movement that includes many genres. The one thing generally agreed upon is that there are many bikers writing about the biker lifestyle using poetic verse.

Biker Poetry is similar to cowboy poetry in that it reflects a romantic lifestyle unique to the America’s. Subjects of the verse often focus on the loneliness or camaraderie associated with motorcycling, the day to day affairs of maintenance of the motorcycle, personal problems within a family that lives within the lifestyle, alcohol, drugs, and the “freedom of the road” motorcycling offers. Another popular subject would be the outlaw biker and the experiences of that lifestyle.

Unlike cowboy poetry, biker poetry embraces many forms of verse. Experimental, Fixed verse, free verse, folk song, Concrete poetry and Poetry slam.

As the popularity of motorcycling spreads, so does the popularity of biker poetry. The Highway Poets Motorcycle Club enjoys an international membership including the U.S, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Biker Poetry may also be referred to as “motorcycle poetry” but the former term is the most widely used to describe the movement, and while it is most common to find biker poetry authored by bikers it is often written by enthusiasts of the sport who do not live a classic biker lifestyle. Poetry from this quarter is often of a higher quality than would be expected in that many classic poets turn there verse to the love of the experience with their motorcycles, thus writing or performing “biker poetry.”

Typical themes of biker poetry include:

Motorcycle maintenance and the problems associated with equipment malfunctions
Interactions with cars and trucks also referred to as “cages.”
The freedom, emotions and sensations’ associated with riding a motorcycle
Biker values and practices
Humorous anecdotes
Memories of times and personalities in the culture
The conflicts and tragedies associated with highway incidents.

The following is a verse from Wild Bill the Alaskan Biker Poet's poem "A Motorcycle Seat", which exhibits traditional biker poetry themes:

Many stories have been told of bikers and their bikes

By poets, writers, prosecutors, liars and the likes.

But it's doubtful that you've heard this story I repeat

With a Bar, Bikers, Beer and a motorcycle seat

Some examples of experimental verse are known in biker poetry. Authors like Colorado T. Sky and Peddlar Bridges have provided many a verse outside of the norm, but the fact remains that most biker poets stay within more classical guidelines, especially rhyming verse.

Biker Poetry is gaining in popularity turning up in your local café’, street corners, online video and radio. The genre is a regular feature in many motorcycle magazines and motorcycle rally’s

One rather interesting quality of most biker poets is their use of pseudonyms. Wild Bill, the Alaskan Biker Poet aka Willism B Rogers, Gypsypashn aka Betsy Lister, Biker Jer aka Jerry Sawinski, Joe Go aka Jose Gouveia and many more. Bikers often carry a pseudonym within the biker culture that provides an accurate reflection of just who the individual is within the group and any special traits.

Prominent biker poets

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