The best of these will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Poetry Library. Poetry is a craft. mama shark. 22 likes. He is quite right. To get my book out there, I took advantage of a range of physical and digital services. Poetry. Short answer: depends on the account you’re looking at, but you should go for it. What I have learnt in the past 18 months is that Instagram is not only a fantastic platform for writers to build an audience, it’s home to an ever-growing community of poets, writers, artists and photographers, and it’s leading a global resurgence in poetry. I’m extremely open with my captions, even if it means sharing things that are personally difficult. I decided to find out whether Instagram poetry took real talent, or if the whole thing is a sham, by becoming the worst poet the internet has ever seen. Just a few years ago #Instapoets were considered a social media novelty. poet. Thousands of writers now enjoy an often-lucrative writing career thanks to social media, and many without the need for publisher. Yes, it is. The National Poetry Library is running a competition on Instagram for poets to enter their work into the running for a special exhibition. I’m fairly prolific when it comes to writing, and extremely pro-active in trying to build a long-term career. I understand the sacrifice I’m making, both financially and in terms of time and effort, to build and maintain an audience and publish my own books. The idea of not releasing anything to an ever-growing audience for more than a year just felt wasteful. Rupi Kaur (4m followers) has seen her self-published debut collection Milk and Honey sell over 1.5m copies since 2015. Even free verse, while technically free of formal restraints, cannot simply constitute any random strings of words. I’m constantly liking poems, commenting on pieces and sharing other poets in my Instagram Stories. He gripes that the work of popular Instagram poets is “not really poetry” but recycled clichés that anyone could write. This type of poetry is written specifically for sharing, most commonly on Instagram , but also Twitter and Tumblr . While the books are profitable, making money wasn’t the primary motivation for releasing the first book, nor will it be for the second. Yes, it is. The Royal Mail shipped my physical copies all over the world. Instapoetry is a style of poetry that emerged as a result of social media. The form usually consists of short direct lines in aesthetically pleasing fonts that are sometimes accompanied by an image or drawing, with or without a rhyme scheme. Would you like IGNITE to cover it? But what does our 8 second attention span mean for poetry? I’m extremely humbled to know the words are helping those struggling with these emotions, and it’s caused me to be as open and honest as possible in my poems. As for the growth, I think it is half understanding the platform and the way social media works, and half luck. Some of his followers understood his intention after reading the satire infested captions, but most never did. I reply to every single comment I get, and I still try and respond to every DM (although, admittedly, this is becoming increasingly difficult). It’s a poetry form that is changeable, and something that can (and should) be worked at as often as possible. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more than a year and has been translated into over 30 languages. They’re all hand-written on a variety of mediums and physically photographed, and I think this helps them stand out from the thousands of other poems in Instagram’s feed. Young calls this pop poetry, or ‘she poetry’. There are even companies who can deal with shipping and fulfilment on my behalf, or I could make use of Amazon’s Print-on-Demand service to take both the initial overheads of printing and the logistics of shipping off my hands. Even then, I was still only taking advantage of a fraction of the services and platforms at my disposal. Other Instagram poets or “Insta-poets” include R.M. It is run by a team of dedicated students across all schools and faculties in UNM under the supervision of academic staff from the School of Media, Languages & Cultures (SMLC). Is poetry language that is spontaneous, impulsive? For publishers, social media provides a perfect testbed for demonstrating commercial viability, with natural growth and self-publishing success excellent indicators for an industry trying to minimise risk. Why ‘Instagram Poetry’ Is Not Poetry: Part I. One of the most common pieces of feedback I get is that my readers find comfort in my work, even when that work seems bleak or intensely sad. It’s fair to say I was dubious at first, particularly given the fact that Instagram is such a visual medium; not a platform one would assume would be a good fit for the written word. Likewise, let’s recognize Instagram poets for what they really are, and ‘pop poetry’ for what it really is: short, simplistic phrases that are more often than not simply paraphrased versions of the same mainstream ideas, with little or no actual literary merit, often written by individuals with very little knowledge or understanding of true poetry. 56 talking about this. Eighteen months later, I have over 98,000 followers and I’m on the third print run of my self-published debut collection, Tell the Birds She’s Gone. A widely observed phenomena today is the increasing popularity of ‘poetry’ that is highly simplistic and trite. These poets are talented in their art and write directly from the heart. Young states that he is not trying to insult or criticize the tastes of those who enjoy these verses. Is it also language that is composed, considered, appropriate, and effective, though you read the text a hundred times? Drake with 1.8 million followers, Christopher Poindexter with 347,000 followers, Cleo Wade with 433,000 followers—and many others. I understood that my decision would come with time and cost implications; something every potential self-published author needs to consider carefully. Squarespace allowed me to easily build a high-quality website with e-commerce functionality. The ability of poets – and other writers, musicians and artists – to build an audience through social media makes a career in their chosen field a genuine possibility, whether that’s going it alone or via traditional routes. PayPal and Stripe allowed me to process payments online. It would be to neglect the need for critical thinking. Luckily, I’m able to re-invest the profits from sales of my first book, which will pay for ISBN and barcode generation; packing costs, including envelopes, tape, address and customs labels; book printing; marketing and promotional costs; influencer marketing; and domain and website renewal and hosting fees. These terms are not synonymous or interchangeable, and the world must begin to recognize the difference. These terms are not synonymous or interchangeable, and the world must begin to recognize the difference. ..This page contains original art work and images borrowed from the internet.. Writing is my hobby (or my side-hustle, as enterprising millennials would probably call it). Even if they do, the pure volume of submissions they receive mean even an exploratory reply can take several months. In February 2019, I decided to set up an Instagram page on the advice of a friend, who thought the platform would be a good place to share my poetry. Finally, I think my audience feel like they know me, and that I’m approachable and part of their community. As a result, I’m aiming to work with a publisher for my third release, which I’m currently in the process of writing. Freedom of expression does grant all the Leavs and Kaurs of the world license to publish whatever they please, and amass as large a fan following as they possibly can. It’s poetry in an active state of evolution. the rise of insta poetry and whether or not it should be considered real poetry, or something else on it's own. Despite this, Insta-poets experience heavy amounts of backlash and scrutiny as if … It’s not exploration, but expression. At this point I had around 20,000 followers, and I was faced with a decision: to look for a literary agent and traditional publisher, or to self-publish the book. By definition, “Insta-poets” are the Instagrammers with accounts widely focused on poetry. Even if I write a longer piece, I will pull out a couple of lines to use in the post, and put the rest of the poem in the caption. Thom Young, one of Atticus’ exposers, is an ardent critic of Instagram poetry. ©2021 The Bookseller, The Stage Media Company Ltd. Nurturing poets and poetry: 21 years of the Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition, Editorial Director - trade fiction & non fiction, Account Manager, Scandinavia, Southern Europe, Turkey, Israel. In glowing articles on the Instapoetry trend, he’s often the only curmudgeon waggling his … There is a fundamental distinction between prose and poetry. If I, as an individual with neither any knowledge nor training in painting were to pick up the brush and try my hand at art, I wouldn’t call myself an artist. Episode. With the rise of Instagram poetry, there are rumblings about what kind of wordsmith will dominate the poetry landscape for the next few decades and whether or not they are equipped for the job. mental health activist. Although I had a good following, risk-averse publishers are unlikely to take on a new writer without existing sales and a relatively small audience. Instagram is overwhelmed by phrases and reused metaphors that no longer fulfill their creative purpose—they’re merely repetitions, … Artists Inspirational Inspo Instagram Poetry Poetry Quotes Poets Quote Catalog Quotes Writers Writing and Expression. Whilst being one of the most successful, however, Rupi is by no means the only Instagram-based poet turning their art into their livelihood. But the truth is you don’t need a literary agent, label or publisher to make a living (or at least a second income) from your work. He is quite right. Original Poetry and Poetry favorites.. Mary Oliver, critically acclaimed poet and winner of the Pulitzer prize says in. Mary Oliver, critically acclaimed poet and winner of the Pulitzer prize says in A Poetry Handbook: Free verse is not, of course, free. His books are available via BlakeAuden.com, and you can follow him on Instagram @blakeaudenpoetry. While self-publishing is certainly possible for any poet or writer, it does require an existing audience to sell to. A published poet, Young has held forth on the subject in outlets like “PBS NewsHour” and The Wall Street Journal. Rather, he wishes people would think more about what they read. Long answer: most of it isn’t. While I would absolutely look to work with a publisher in future (if for no other reason than it would allow me to focus solely on writing and on communicating with my followers), I would better understand my own value in the equation - and that’s largely down to deciding to go it alone and build something with the potential to last. It can be argued that it isn’t even poetry at all. To do so would be to undermine the actual craft, which in reality is a painstaking, elaborate and thoughtful process. While they’re the biggest names in this field, they aren’t the only ones. IGNITE Magazine is the official student media body of the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM). There’s no doubt I’ve been lucky with the growth of the account. There is a fundamental distinction between prose and poetry. Young states that he is not trying to insult or criticize the tastes of those who enjoy these verses. So, when I’m writing poems, I focus on concision; trying to say as much as I can in as few words as possible. However, there is an entire Instagram community of poets and writers who have beautiful profiles full of heart-aching and uplifting pieces of work that will leave you in awe. With the impact of Covid-19, this demonstrable viability is likely to be even more of a prerequisite for publishing deals than it may have been previously. But I also think an understanding of the platform has helped to facilitate this. Welcome back to Instagram. Self-publishing and doing your own PR and marketing are a lot of work, and for many people the prestige of releasing a title through a major publishing house still appeals, even for those making a solid income doing it themselves. According to latest research, humans today have attention spans shorter than a goldfish. It is free from formal metrical design, but it certainly isn’t free from some kind of design. As mentioned above, people’s decreased attention spans have led to decreased consumption of nearly anything that requires sustained thought or attention. I have been writing poetry most of my life. In February 2018, the National Poetry Library put a call out for Instagram poems. “I think people today don’t want to read anything that causes a whole lot of critical thinking,” he told PBS, an American broadcaster. Instagram is a visual medium primarily focused on photography and easily shareable content that doesn’t demand considerable attention from the user. dead white, straight, cisgender, males." My second book, Beekeeper, is released on September 8th, 2020, and pre-orders are already going well. Not only that, but the demographics of the platform have helped poets to reach a new, younger audience of buyers, many of whom may not have been interested in traditional poetry. Perhaps it is time for a clear distinction to be drawn between ‘poetry’ and ‘Instapoetry’ or ‘pop poetry’. I also don’t use any apps to present my poems. To do so would be to undermine the actual craft, which in reality is a painstaking, elaborate and thoughtful process. It would be to neglect the need for critical thinking. That being said, these works do not necessarily need to fall under the umbrella of ‘poetry’. Even if I were to keep at it for a while, I still wouldn’t qualify as an artist because my paintings would be lacking actual artistic merit. Lost in the (Lion) City: A Cinematic Story of Singapore’s Forgotten Souls, Asian Representation in Modern Literature. . This collection is filled with poems from some of our favorite Instagram poets. This would explain the increased consumption of terribly transient media like pop music and mindless listicles. Encouraged by my English teacher as a child, I used writing as a way of dealing with emotions, anxiety and, as I grew older, with heartbreak. Likewise, let’s recognize Instagram poets for what they really are, and ‘pop poetry’ for what it really is: short, simplistic phrases that are more often than not simply paraphrased versions of the same mainstream ideas, with little or no actual literary merit, often written by individuals with very little knowledge or understanding of true poetry. Perhaps it is time for a clear distinction to be drawn between ‘poetry’ and ‘Instapoetry’ or ‘pop poetry’. This is particularly true in the poetry niche, where huge sellers are probably few and far between. Even free verse, while technically free of formal restraints, cannot simply constitute any random strings of words. For those looking to work with publishers, record labels, agents and distributors, building an audience first puts them in a much stronger negotiating position, particularly when it comes to advances and royalties. Is your club or society having an event? 167k Followers, 19 Following, 858 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Poetry Community (@poetry.community) These ‘Instagram poets’ started off by posting short verses of little depth or meaning, amassed thousands and even millions of followers then went on to publish bestselling poetry books. Related. Poetry is a craft. Read: Poetry is everywhere.. Submitting to an agent or publisher often comes with a non-committal approach to responses, meaning they may or may not get back to you. More than 40% of those sales we made to people under the age of 22. It isn’t currently possible for me to make writing my main source of income, but that’s the long-term goal. Many of the modern poets leading this surge in sales built their following on Instagram. SHOP IT Amazon, $14 This is mainly down to agility; those who did express an interest wanted to publish in late 2021 or in 2022. My goal is to build a future career; to demonstrate viability to traditional publishers and entertainment media and to build a solid foundation for future success. Log In Real Poetry. Today, they're a creative force in the literary world In the early days, poetry and illustrated quotes on social media were considered a novelty—engendering a level of respectability that lay somewhere in between hashtag blessed and Pinterest. I’ve had my work shared by some large community pages and influencers with substantial followings, and that has helped bring new people to my account over the last year and a half. It's also easy to understand why authors opt to go with traditional book publishers. Amazon’s KDP meant I could easily publish an e-book. From submission to acceptance to actually having a physical book for sale can take well over a year or more, and on reflection, I wanted to get something into people’s hands much quicker. 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