Critics Trash James Franco's Bizarre Poetry on Heath Ledger

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Looks like James Franco's debut collection of poetry, Directing Herbert White, isn't getting the best reviews.

In fact, it's pretty much the opposite.

One particular poem getting plenty of attention/hate?

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Franco's poem about the late Heath Ledger (via The Telegraph), who he reveals was his competition for roles earlier in his career.

"There had been a time

When we were up for the same roles,

10 Things I Hate about You

(Based on The Taming of the Shrew),

And The Patriot –

Funny, you were Australian and so was Mel –

You were the knight in A Knight's Tale..."

"North Korea recently condemned the actor James Franco's upcoming film, The Interview, as 'an act of terrorism and war.' Let's hope they don't find out about his poems," The Telegraph's Charlotte Runcie writes in her scathing review.

Ouch.

In an article titled "James Franco Turned Heat Ledger's IMDB Page Into Bad Poetry," Gawker also pokes fun at Franco's latest artistic effort.

"But Franco's strangest tribute to ill-fated celebrity is a poem about Heath Ledger (or maybe a loosely rhyming retelling of Heath Ledger's IMDB page)," Jay Hathaway writes. "It's full of essential truths, though: Ledger definitely was the knight in A Knight's Tale. Well observed, James Franco."

Though some believe Franco’s book of poems -- which also attempts to delve into the thoughts of Lindsay Lohan and the late River Phoenix -- is just the eccentric actor’s latest attempt to toy with his public perception.

"There is a fake version of me / And he's the one that writes / These poems. / He has an attitude and a swagger / That I don't have," he writes in his poem Fake.

The poem ends: "He's become the real me / Because everyone treats me / Like I'm the fake me."

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What are your thoughts on Franco's bizarre poetry?