Creepy Online-Dating Message Or Spoken-Word Poetry? You Decide!

If you've ever plunged headfirst into the world of online dating, you've probably experienced your fair share of uncomfortable/awkward messages from potential suitors — you know, the type of email that makes you question whether or not you'd be better off staying single. You've probably even shared a few of these hilarious "love letters" with your friends. But, have you ever considered reading them out loud in front of an audience of total strangers?

Introducing the OkStupid Poetry Slam, an artistic, open-mic platform that allows you to transform those unwelcome dating messages into, well, poetry. "It all started while sitting around The Rookery one night with Jamie [the owner] and some friends, lamenting about the dating scene in Bushwick and NYC in general," Tan Roberts, the event's organizer, explained in an interview with Bushwick Daily. "We got to talking about online dating and how creepy it can be; I pulled up the [OkCupid] app on my phone and started reading some of the more disturbing, unsolicited messages I had received — as if [they were] poetry. Jamie, the owner, thought it was so hysterical that he said, 'You’ve gotta do this here one night,' and it took off from there."

Ahead of tonight's event at the Bushwick pub, Roberts shares nine of the completely insane, out-of-this-world messages she's received through her adventures in online dating. Because, if we can't laugh at our own online-dating mishaps, what kind of civilization are we?