Whether you are an avid follower, or someone who considers themselves above such poetry, the one thing that cannot be denied is success.
Instagram poets are more than just poets, they are entrepreneurs. They are using social media to break down the barriers around a type of writing that is usually seen as elitist and exclusive, bringing it to the masses in a way that can be enjoyed by more than just the traditional poetry fans.
They cover topics that attract a younger audience. An audience that usually would have shied away from poetry, seeing it as something they are forced to read in school. Love, sex, feminism and simply life itself are popular topics amongst poetry, but what the instagram poets like Rupi Kaur and Nikita Gill do, is make it accessible and enjoyable.
Poetry has long been dominated by the white man, earning them much prestige with their collections which sometimes doesn’t allow minority groups a chance.
“In 2016 almost 10% of poets published by a major press in the UK were black or Asian”
Using Instagram as a platform to push their art, there is an emergence of new, young writers, many of whom are women or people of colour. It is giving a voice to those who may have been pushed down by traditional publishers, and people are responding. They are making poetry popular again, with these poets having thousands and millions of followers.
Just look at the numbers:
Rupi Kaur: 3.5 Million followers.
Nikita Gill: 509k followers.
Amanda Lovelace: 70.1k followers.
Atticus: 1 Million followers.
Trista Mateer: 45.1k followers.
R.H. Sin: 1.4 Million followers.
Lang Leav: 500k followers
You’d think this would put them in a place of reverence amongst other poets, achieving such success with their words. But the reality is quite the opposite. As Rebecca Watts put it “Artless poetry sells”. She then goes on to call Instagram Poetry amateurish and how the reader is now dead in favour of the “consumer-driven content and the ‘instant gratification’ this affords.” But surely, is it not better that the art changes with time? Should it not adapt and become something new to suit the new world it finds itself in?
I agree that the trend of Instagram poetry is due to the quick, snapshots that we can consume within our feed, pausing in our scroll. Like everything else, human beings consume ravenously, so why would it not be the same with poetry? But in this busy world, not everyone has the time or patience to sit down and read William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence and Experience”. That is where Instagram poetry has its unique selling point. It is not only accessible in the terms of who can read it, but also how we can read it.
What Instagram poets have done, is found a trend, cornered it and sold it to the masses with great success. They understand the hustle and are pushing back at tradition.
I don’t think they should be dismissed, I think they should be praised.
Who knows, maybe the traditional poets could learn a thing or two.
Sources:
https://www.pnreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/scribe?item_id=10090
https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=79680
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/rupi-kaur-instagram-poet-entrepreneur/572746/
Image Credit:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrPHcN-nlAz/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtWjrQ8FC5S/
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