Richard Siken has always been a fanfic enthusiast

polygon.com:

On Aug. 7, 2023, acclaimed poet Richard Siken posted on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. This would not be out of the ordinary, except the tweet was about fanfiction — more specifically, Siken’s own fanfiction writing experience.

“I have tried it and my Destiel is better writing than my Wincest,” wrote Siken, referring to two very popular Supernatural ships. “My Johnlock is better than both.” (Johnlock is the pairing of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes from BBC’s Sherlock.)

Fan Fiction is transgressive. It co-opts the creator's vision. It steps on it. It is fiction built on fiction. There can be no canon in it. I say do it, have at it. I have tried it and my Destiel is better writing than my Wincest. My Johnlock is better than both. 1/2

And across Twitter (well, X, as CEO Elon Musk recently rebranded it) and Tumblr, those familiar with how influential Siken’s work is across different fandom communities went wild.

You see, Siken’s poetry has long been a fundamental part of the fandom experience, particularly for those who are extremely online. Fans across tons of different TV shows, movies, and games — particularly those with big slash (male-male pairings) ships — have added lines from his poetry as captions on their fanart for years, superimposed it on yearning gif edits, or even titled their own fanfiction with it. Seeing the poet not only acknowledge he knows about and approves of fanfiction, but also that he actively participates in fandom, was surreal.

This was especially startling to younger fans, many of whom posted to Tumblr and X (née Twitter) expressing their surprise that Siken is 1) alive and 2) not some guy who lived 100 years ago. Siken had to follow up with a tweet reminding everyone