Published in print for the first time in 2018, Angelo ‘EyeAmBic’ Geter’s poem “Good Man” follows in his primary tradition of slam poetry. The narrative piece has common characteristics of publicly performed poems: it tells a story, it uses sonorous language to connect ideas, and Geter’s confessional tone draws readers and listeners in for his conclusion. In “Good Man,” Geter describes an interaction with his sister in which he explores themes relating to toxic masculinity and how he relates to these. He ends on the idea that while there are no “good men,” some men will try their hardest to not be bad ones. Geter is a relatively new poet in the American literary scene and has risen to popularity in several circles, most recently being named Poet Laureate of Rock Hill, South Carolina. In addition, Geter has won a number of awards for his slam poetry; he is a 2019 All-America city winner and 2018 National Poetry Slam champion, among other honors.

Poet Biography

Angelo Geter is a 2020 Poet Laureate Fellow (Academy of American Poets), winner of multiple slam awards, and current Poet Laureate of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Much of Geter’s success is due to his popularity as a slam poet. Professionally, Geter provides services as both an artist and as a motivational speaker who works with young people to help them find their voice. His work deals with many themes, including grief, resilience, masculinity, and race.

Poem Text

Geter, Angelo. “Good Man.” 2018. Academy of American Poets.

Summary

The poem opens on the narrator, who can be assumed to be Angelo Geter himself, talking to his sister, who poses the central tension of the poem: “a good man is hard to find.” In the sister’s opinion, it’s difficult to find any man who is a viable heterosexual candidate. The first stanza also introduces readers to Geter’s narrative tone, which in some parts, is joking and sarcastic in turns.

Geter’s response to his sister’s assertion begins in the second stanza, where he argues that actually, “there’s no such thing as a good man.” His sister responds that she hopes that Geter is one; he counters that no man can be good. The remainder of the poem is Geter’s explanation of his thesis: Men’s socialization teaches them to treat women “like prey” and to “betray” them. This section of the argument is marked by word play, as Geter juxtaposes positive feminine images with the violent and disrespectful ways that men treat women. Throughout these stanzas, Geter uses the first person plural voice to speak from the position of men in general, arguing that “the world never showed us how to worship” women and so instead men operate with “bad intentions.”

In the final stanza, Geter switches back to the first person singular to circle back to his sister’s query from the opening of the poem. Though he wants to “apologize” for all the bad men in the world, Geter instead argues that since all men are socialized to be bad, the “few of us who know” will “die trying” to be better.