I went to a lecture recently by my state’s Poet Laureate where he talked about this exact topic. More specifically, he spoke on how the Lost Generation is the group of writers that shifted poetry from being something commonplace and enjoyed by all to being something more distinct and elitist. I’d never known much about the history of poetry, so it was fascinating to hear its evolution.
At the end of his lecture, I asked what he thought about “Instapoets” and the hate they often get for not being “real poets”. His response was that anything that brings someone to appreciate poetry is valuable and worth appreciating.
I have many artistic friends. Designers, musicians, writers, you name it. And I often spend time reflecting on the complete randomness that some people who share their talent become adored by society and others are never discovered. Is my friend’s song any less transformative, just because it was only heard by a group of 10 instead of 10,000? I wouldn’t say so.
This is becoming an essay, but all of this to say that I think we should stop looking to what society deems as acceptable art and just start seeking out things that touch our hearts. Honestly, more power to us all if we find it in the hidden corners where others don’t want to shine a light.
randomness. yes. what happened to the value of front porch music with neighbors and singing while you do your household chores? Yes to seeking out what touches our hearts!!
Yes, and while it’s not necessarily to validate to us, we understand the need, the ache! In my fantasy to rant, I see masses walking down Main Street with signs like:
Yes, this could be quite controversial to some/ “highbrows”. It could be said for all of the arts. For example, Fine Art vs. art: I love the AI art of Kaoru Yamada but it gets so many knickers in a knot when her work is posted in a FB painting group: some argue that it’s NOT painting or even art yet her work gets so many positive comments as well. Like her, your poetry touches people in a real, understandable way. When I showed some of my poetry to my high school English teacher, he said he liked it, “but have you read T.S. Eliot?” I dutifully read some and once I read notes in order to decipher the meaning behind it, I recognized it as profound but not accessible nor that enjoyable (someone, somewhere, is gasping at me for saying that). Literature vs. literature: sure Moby Dick is a “Classic” but you won’t find anyone reading it on the beach this summer. Beethoven’s music is far infinitely more complex etc. than most music today but none of his pieces are in my playlists. I couldn’t open the NY Times article without opting for a ‘free’ subscription so I couldn’t see when it was written and when they coined the term. It seems to me that nowadays any wise artist, musician, writer needs to get their work out on social media- I happily discover so many in this way. I actually see their words as a backhanded compliment to you- that your work has re-invigorated an interest in poetry and how we conceptualize what poetry is. I read the quote from the article as a criticism of the critics and purists who would “sneer” at poetry vs. Poetry. You just keep doing what you’re doing- and we will keep showing up here, and wherever we can access your words.
I'm a millennial, which colors my experience, but I love the insta poets. I have read enough "true poetry" that did nothing to change me. I want poetry that pierces my heart, hits the longing, or uncovers unknowns that leave me minutely different for reading it. With most insta poetry I find a different level of connection, comraderie, a yearning in those pieces. They speak to shared experiences with an accessibility that I crave. I want the poetry that burns me; the way that I discover it does not change its value.
Instapoetry is not bad for poetry. It might be bad for the institution of poetry but that is not something that I care about at all. If people find something they love let them love it and if they find something that speaks to their soul let them have it. We all need moments of small sparkle.
Wait, did you just call me Riff Raff? LOL. But seriously though. THANK YOU for this post, for telling this story, you are educating me about all this. I did not encounter you thru Insta bc I don't have any social media cx FB, and only that to access some things I care about or can't find locally. (I never post anything). So you have never been "Insta Poet" to me. AND, I immediately connected with your life calling of being present with/making something beautiful and useful out of pain. (And I desperately NEED examples of this in my life). Which to me says integrity. You have integrity as an artist. However you put it out into the world is your choice, you're the poet. AND, when you are true to your art, that effect ripples out into the world and THAT is a benefit to all poets, in their gazillions (thankfully) of manifestations. Let the world spin things as it will, us riff raff know who you are. (smile)
If you're here, you're Riff Raff, and that's the highest praise of all time. :) Thank YOU for being here, and for being open to all the random shit I post. Thank you for these kind words, for the boost, for the reminder that it all matters.
…Or so I heard, and so believe, let it be written, spoken, sung, on page and screen. For I can’t be the one of such words, but for the voiceless –sing.
It probably comes as little surprise that I am one of those bright sparks. That the origin story? The very missed Richard Gill let the chinadoll sing 'little boy blue' with perfect pitch at the Baby Proms with the SSO. I was three or four.
What happens when you submit a subgenre of crime fiction to the Canon of English Literature, and if gets accepted? At 22. When you also ran the world; closed the gap; did a grade 8 piano exam; attended as many 21sts as you could; showed up for your kin; and loved the bright eyed boy who said "this year is yours. I'll keep it running. You take care of everyone else, I'll take care of you".
You need to be loyal to the things that fill your cup.
You know who cared for me? Before the Legend of the class of 04? TKG. He had a typewriter & his words were a universe of pools of sorrow. And, the waves? The waves were euphoric.
He outlasted Kurt Halsey. Outwitted John Mayer. Was the safe harbour that Matt Nathanson is sometimes not because he is red cordial & we are the runaways lighting the night.
The extroverted introverts; the Playmakers who do not need applause to live.
Here. Here is our home.
If there is not room for everyone?
I do not want to live there.
It is abhorrently hateful & a real chocolate teapot move to posit you as the Swifty of Poetry.
It says more about them, and their gatekeepers & the capitalist signs that they wear as armours of grandeur.
It was never about you.
Let them race to the bottom.
(Yeah, JSchool for Masters made me an adamantium weapon. I know how the sausage is made. They clickbait you & then they have the audacity to want to hit you over the head again with a newspaper? No.)
I agree! Tyler your poetry was really the gateway for me if I'm being completely honest. I didn't connect much with what I had read before. A few poems here and there, but yours consistently made me feel things and I will forever be grateful!!!
I was late to the game, only finding you last fall, so I had no idea that InstaPoetry was even a thing! But I did find you on Instagram because I followed the hashtag of a singer I had also just discovered (seriously you guys are the best twofer ever!). Because that is what we do now. We manipulate the algorithms to show us what we want to see and fine tune what we are fed in our feeds (how weird that we have normalized that term no?).
I wonder how many Poets looked down their noses when we first invented the printing press at those who chose to release their work to the masses? Or when radio was invented and the audio version became a thing. And then television; the Internet and its World Wide Web of communication possibilities. Heck, cave poets who had the audacity to mark their musings on the wall instead of just passing them on orally were also probably mocked with a neandrathalic side eye. There is always pushback when we evolve our method of communication and it is usually because that evolution allows us to reach more people with greater ease which causes a greater impact and weight to our words.
So blaze that trail and shine your light! Inspire others and lead the way! And when you're an old poetic fart, don't look down on the poets who project their image via hologram into the chip we all have inserted in our eyeballs, or whatever way we are compelled to share by that stage of the game!
I'm so glad you found me at all, it's getting harder and harder, a sea of lookalikes make you vanish anymore. This is such a beautiful comment, and so f'ing well said. As usual.
Yes yes yes. I struggle so much with to share my poetry online or not. If I am a poet or not. You are right though. Once it is written and shared, I no longer have to carry it alone. I'm so thankful for you and your poetry. And your support.
"Keep your capital P, I'll stay lowercase forever." Mic drop!!
First and foremost, I agree with everything you said. Gatekeeping for anything is so dumb. Whether it's creation/art, life experiences, anything... Because we are, all of us, unique. Our experiences, perspectives, it's all different. So even if we do the same thing, or make the same thing, it is still going to be different because WE are different.
Also... There is some HUGE irony in getting shit on for having work posted on social media.... Because to get a book deal these days, to get a publishing house to bother with anyone's work, they need to have a substantial instagram following!! To do a huge chunk of the legwork of promoting their upcoming book!!! So, if writers want to be successful they'd better have a great social media following but if you are successful at posting on socials and getting that online recognition, then you're not a "real" poet/writer?!!! What in the Sam Dickens is that bullshit?!!!
Plus, even outside of writing and poetry.... Social media is used by basically any kind of professional or business owner who wants a fast and free way to advertise their goods with a potential to reach a huuuge number of people. Sooooo basically everyone does it. So why shit on the artists who use it, and say that illegitimizes (not a word) their work?!!
Ughhhh
I will join you in this rant forever.
You are the poet-est (also not a word) of all posts. I love that you post on social media because that's how I found your work -- a Pinterest post that I saw, when I was a bored college student scrolly-scrolling in class instead of paying attention (whoops) in 2012, and I instantly looked up as much of your stuff as I could find. It changed my life. It floated me through some of the darkest times of my life. So if that isn't poetry, then nothing is.
Thank YOU for picking up the mic I dropped! And I fully agree, gatekeeping stops so much beauty from entering this world. And, I have a new Signal Fire coming about precisely your 2nd paragraph. Welcome to the rant, you did a much better job than I did at expressing it hahaha.
I have never thought of you as less than a capital P because when I read your words I feel seen. I feel a rush of emotions. It’s a beautiful connection. There are many poets I don’t understand and I often wondered how they became famous. I feel like I need a manual of understanding to relate to what they have to say.
Thank you for your words, your silliness, your energy. It’s brings light to so many. I have learned more about poetry from you than anyone else. #grateful
I, as someone who probably would never have found your work (or you) sitting on top of some bookcase shelf somewhere…, appreciate you sharing your poetry, works, art, experience & existence on a more “social”, “untraditional” and maybe “unacceptable” platform. I’ll take lowercase forever. ❤️
Poetry, when I wrote it, has always been about releasing what I held too tightly inside. High school and my days in college were peak times, expressing a heart loneliness as I was always overlooked as a date because "i was wife material" [as it was explained to me by a table of men.]
But the pinnacle of my writing, poetry and prose, came during my years of untreated, and trying to find the right treatment for, depression. It was a long haul. I wrote small tidbits of 'stories' called "Stories of She". She who struggled but rose from the fire, not as a Phoenix, but as something claiming sovereignty, her new place in the world of chaos and beyond.
And yes, I shared it on social media. WordPress [Reikiflower Daily Muse] mostly and a page on Facebook named "Chaotic Whirlpools. I don't post there as much anymore, but if you scroll back to the archives ... there are some gems there . Honest speak of my recovery and what depression is to me. It's all out there. It helped me heal. All the writing was the 'best' thing about my depression. The right meds have stolen it from me mostly.
All this to say, I understand as I am one of the 'Instapoets' [although having never posted an of it on Instagram.] For me, kind of like a 'published' journal.
I'm so glad I found you so long ago ... not even sure how I found you, but it was online.
THIS. I majored in English lit in university, and it often frustrated me that so much of the poetry we studied was indecipherable to the point where I couldn't glean any emotion from it. Your poetry has inspired me to feel more comfortable writing my own poetry, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your words, which always leave me feeling moved and inspired to explore the world and my thoughts and emotions from a different perspective.
Thank YOU for this, SO much for this. To hear it from someone who studied it, who sat through it, who had to try so hard to understand what quite possibly was not even written TO be understood, means even more. You're magic, and I'm so happy you're here.
I went to a lecture recently by my state’s Poet Laureate where he talked about this exact topic. More specifically, he spoke on how the Lost Generation is the group of writers that shifted poetry from being something commonplace and enjoyed by all to being something more distinct and elitist. I’d never known much about the history of poetry, so it was fascinating to hear its evolution.
At the end of his lecture, I asked what he thought about “Instapoets” and the hate they often get for not being “real poets”. His response was that anything that brings someone to appreciate poetry is valuable and worth appreciating.
I have many artistic friends. Designers, musicians, writers, you name it. And I often spend time reflecting on the complete randomness that some people who share their talent become adored by society and others are never discovered. Is my friend’s song any less transformative, just because it was only heard by a group of 10 instead of 10,000? I wouldn’t say so.
This is becoming an essay, but all of this to say that I think we should stop looking to what society deems as acceptable art and just start seeking out things that touch our hearts. Honestly, more power to us all if we find it in the hidden corners where others don’t want to shine a light.
randomness. yes. what happened to the value of front porch music with neighbors and singing while you do your household chores? Yes to seeking out what touches our hearts!!
I FULLY AGREE. Your closing statement is absolutely perfect. As usual.
Yes, and while it’s not necessarily to validate to us, we understand the need, the ache! In my fantasy to rant, I see masses walking down Main Street with signs like:
I am a poet
I may not be your poet
With or without rhyme
YESSS MAKE THE SIGNS.
Yes, this could be quite controversial to some/ “highbrows”. It could be said for all of the arts. For example, Fine Art vs. art: I love the AI art of Kaoru Yamada but it gets so many knickers in a knot when her work is posted in a FB painting group: some argue that it’s NOT painting or even art yet her work gets so many positive comments as well. Like her, your poetry touches people in a real, understandable way. When I showed some of my poetry to my high school English teacher, he said he liked it, “but have you read T.S. Eliot?” I dutifully read some and once I read notes in order to decipher the meaning behind it, I recognized it as profound but not accessible nor that enjoyable (someone, somewhere, is gasping at me for saying that). Literature vs. literature: sure Moby Dick is a “Classic” but you won’t find anyone reading it on the beach this summer. Beethoven’s music is far infinitely more complex etc. than most music today but none of his pieces are in my playlists. I couldn’t open the NY Times article without opting for a ‘free’ subscription so I couldn’t see when it was written and when they coined the term. It seems to me that nowadays any wise artist, musician, writer needs to get their work out on social media- I happily discover so many in this way. I actually see their words as a backhanded compliment to you- that your work has re-invigorated an interest in poetry and how we conceptualize what poetry is. I read the quote from the article as a criticism of the critics and purists who would “sneer” at poetry vs. Poetry. You just keep doing what you’re doing- and we will keep showing up here, and wherever we can access your words.
Oops- switch the order of “far” and “infinitely”. But then, I’m just a writer and not a Writer. 😜
Here's to the lowercase, whether it's poet or writer, I prefer it so. Thank you for you.
I'm a millennial, which colors my experience, but I love the insta poets. I have read enough "true poetry" that did nothing to change me. I want poetry that pierces my heart, hits the longing, or uncovers unknowns that leave me minutely different for reading it. With most insta poetry I find a different level of connection, comraderie, a yearning in those pieces. They speak to shared experiences with an accessibility that I crave. I want the poetry that burns me; the way that I discover it does not change its value.
Instapoetry is not bad for poetry. It might be bad for the institution of poetry but that is not something that I care about at all. If people find something they love let them love it and if they find something that speaks to their soul let them have it. We all need moments of small sparkle.
Elise, hearing this from a different generation is magic, and means more than you know. You're amazing and I love ya.
Wait, did you just call me Riff Raff? LOL. But seriously though. THANK YOU for this post, for telling this story, you are educating me about all this. I did not encounter you thru Insta bc I don't have any social media cx FB, and only that to access some things I care about or can't find locally. (I never post anything). So you have never been "Insta Poet" to me. AND, I immediately connected with your life calling of being present with/making something beautiful and useful out of pain. (And I desperately NEED examples of this in my life). Which to me says integrity. You have integrity as an artist. However you put it out into the world is your choice, you're the poet. AND, when you are true to your art, that effect ripples out into the world and THAT is a benefit to all poets, in their gazillions (thankfully) of manifestations. Let the world spin things as it will, us riff raff know who you are. (smile)
If you're here, you're Riff Raff, and that's the highest praise of all time. :) Thank YOU for being here, and for being open to all the random shit I post. Thank you for these kind words, for the boost, for the reminder that it all matters.
To speak less and say more
is an art of the highest order
To be easily understood
is the science of mastery
…Or so I heard, and so believe, let it be written, spoken, sung, on page and screen. For I can’t be the one of such words, but for the voiceless –sing.
But, you just did
We're all poetry in Motion.
And, you wear it so well.
Oooh, I love this Megan, so very much.
lower case for always
It probably comes as little surprise that I am one of those bright sparks. That the origin story? The very missed Richard Gill let the chinadoll sing 'little boy blue' with perfect pitch at the Baby Proms with the SSO. I was three or four.
What happens when you submit a subgenre of crime fiction to the Canon of English Literature, and if gets accepted? At 22. When you also ran the world; closed the gap; did a grade 8 piano exam; attended as many 21sts as you could; showed up for your kin; and loved the bright eyed boy who said "this year is yours. I'll keep it running. You take care of everyone else, I'll take care of you".
You need to be loyal to the things that fill your cup.
You know who cared for me? Before the Legend of the class of 04? TKG. He had a typewriter & his words were a universe of pools of sorrow. And, the waves? The waves were euphoric.
He outlasted Kurt Halsey. Outwitted John Mayer. Was the safe harbour that Matt Nathanson is sometimes not because he is red cordial & we are the runaways lighting the night.
The extroverted introverts; the Playmakers who do not need applause to live.
Here. Here is our home.
If there is not room for everyone?
I do not want to live there.
It is abhorrently hateful & a real chocolate teapot move to posit you as the Swifty of Poetry.
It says more about them, and their gatekeepers & the capitalist signs that they wear as armours of grandeur.
It was never about you.
Let them race to the bottom.
(Yeah, JSchool for Masters made me an adamantium weapon. I know how the sausage is made. They clickbait you & then they have the audacity to want to hit you over the head again with a newspaper? No.)
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this line: "The extroverted introverts; the Playmakers who do not need applause to live."
I agree! Tyler your poetry was really the gateway for me if I'm being completely honest. I didn't connect much with what I had read before. A few poems here and there, but yours consistently made me feel things and I will forever be grateful!!!
I'm a gateway drug! I MADE IT!
Indeed! 🤣 I have so many poetry books now haha
I was late to the game, only finding you last fall, so I had no idea that InstaPoetry was even a thing! But I did find you on Instagram because I followed the hashtag of a singer I had also just discovered (seriously you guys are the best twofer ever!). Because that is what we do now. We manipulate the algorithms to show us what we want to see and fine tune what we are fed in our feeds (how weird that we have normalized that term no?).
I wonder how many Poets looked down their noses when we first invented the printing press at those who chose to release their work to the masses? Or when radio was invented and the audio version became a thing. And then television; the Internet and its World Wide Web of communication possibilities. Heck, cave poets who had the audacity to mark their musings on the wall instead of just passing them on orally were also probably mocked with a neandrathalic side eye. There is always pushback when we evolve our method of communication and it is usually because that evolution allows us to reach more people with greater ease which causes a greater impact and weight to our words.
So blaze that trail and shine your light! Inspire others and lead the way! And when you're an old poetic fart, don't look down on the poets who project their image via hologram into the chip we all have inserted in our eyeballs, or whatever way we are compelled to share by that stage of the game!
I'm so glad you found me at all, it's getting harder and harder, a sea of lookalikes make you vanish anymore. This is such a beautiful comment, and so f'ing well said. As usual.
Yes yes yes. I struggle so much with to share my poetry online or not. If I am a poet or not. You are right though. Once it is written and shared, I no longer have to carry it alone. I'm so thankful for you and your poetry. And your support.
SHARE IT! The world needs it. Truly.
"Keep your capital P, I'll stay lowercase forever." Mic drop!!
First and foremost, I agree with everything you said. Gatekeeping for anything is so dumb. Whether it's creation/art, life experiences, anything... Because we are, all of us, unique. Our experiences, perspectives, it's all different. So even if we do the same thing, or make the same thing, it is still going to be different because WE are different.
Also... There is some HUGE irony in getting shit on for having work posted on social media.... Because to get a book deal these days, to get a publishing house to bother with anyone's work, they need to have a substantial instagram following!! To do a huge chunk of the legwork of promoting their upcoming book!!! So, if writers want to be successful they'd better have a great social media following but if you are successful at posting on socials and getting that online recognition, then you're not a "real" poet/writer?!!! What in the Sam Dickens is that bullshit?!!!
Plus, even outside of writing and poetry.... Social media is used by basically any kind of professional or business owner who wants a fast and free way to advertise their goods with a potential to reach a huuuge number of people. Sooooo basically everyone does it. So why shit on the artists who use it, and say that illegitimizes (not a word) their work?!!
Ughhhh
I will join you in this rant forever.
You are the poet-est (also not a word) of all posts. I love that you post on social media because that's how I found your work -- a Pinterest post that I saw, when I was a bored college student scrolly-scrolling in class instead of paying attention (whoops) in 2012, and I instantly looked up as much of your stuff as I could find. It changed my life. It floated me through some of the darkest times of my life. So if that isn't poetry, then nothing is.
Thank YOU for picking up the mic I dropped! And I fully agree, gatekeeping stops so much beauty from entering this world. And, I have a new Signal Fire coming about precisely your 2nd paragraph. Welcome to the rant, you did a much better job than I did at expressing it hahaha.
Not better!! #teamwork
I have never thought of you as less than a capital P because when I read your words I feel seen. I feel a rush of emotions. It’s a beautiful connection. There are many poets I don’t understand and I often wondered how they became famous. I feel like I need a manual of understanding to relate to what they have to say.
Thank you for your words, your silliness, your energy. It’s brings light to so many. I have learned more about poetry from you than anyone else. #grateful
Amber, thank you so much. Capital P or lowercase p, matters not, if it reaches people like you, it's all worth it.
I, as someone who probably would never have found your work (or you) sitting on top of some bookcase shelf somewhere…, appreciate you sharing your poetry, works, art, experience & existence on a more “social”, “untraditional” and maybe “unacceptable” platform. I’ll take lowercase forever. ❤️
Welcome to the lowercase, I love ya, and I am so thankful for you.
Poetry, when I wrote it, has always been about releasing what I held too tightly inside. High school and my days in college were peak times, expressing a heart loneliness as I was always overlooked as a date because "i was wife material" [as it was explained to me by a table of men.]
But the pinnacle of my writing, poetry and prose, came during my years of untreated, and trying to find the right treatment for, depression. It was a long haul. I wrote small tidbits of 'stories' called "Stories of She". She who struggled but rose from the fire, not as a Phoenix, but as something claiming sovereignty, her new place in the world of chaos and beyond.
And yes, I shared it on social media. WordPress [Reikiflower Daily Muse] mostly and a page on Facebook named "Chaotic Whirlpools. I don't post there as much anymore, but if you scroll back to the archives ... there are some gems there . Honest speak of my recovery and what depression is to me. It's all out there. It helped me heal. All the writing was the 'best' thing about my depression. The right meds have stolen it from me mostly.
All this to say, I understand as I am one of the 'Instapoets' [although having never posted an of it on Instagram.] For me, kind of like a 'published' journal.
I'm so glad I found you so long ago ... not even sure how I found you, but it was online.
Stories of She sounds breathtaking. I'll dive back and check them out. I'm so glad you found me, too. So glad you call this place another home.
THIS. I majored in English lit in university, and it often frustrated me that so much of the poetry we studied was indecipherable to the point where I couldn't glean any emotion from it. Your poetry has inspired me to feel more comfortable writing my own poetry, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your words, which always leave me feeling moved and inspired to explore the world and my thoughts and emotions from a different perspective.
Thank YOU for this, SO much for this. To hear it from someone who studied it, who sat through it, who had to try so hard to understand what quite possibly was not even written TO be understood, means even more. You're magic, and I'm so happy you're here.
🤗