let’s talk bookish | pages & poetry

🌷where to start with poetry + recommendations

I kinda answered this prompt back in 2020 in the post I linked above, but I figured I’d write about the topic again to see if any of my opinions have changed.

I definitely do think that social media has made all works of poetry, including both modern and classic poetry, much more accessible. I noticed that on social media from 2014 to 2017 there was definitely a big interest in modern poetry, most of which was shorter free verse poetry, but in the last two-ish years I’ve seen a resurgence in interest in more classic works of poetry such as works by Mary Oliver and Sylvia Plath. I think that for people only paying surface-level attention to the world of poetry shared on social media, this shift may seem odd, but I actually think that the uptick in interest in classic poetry is probably thanks to the 2010s boom in modern poetry. If you think about it, the people who were in their teens in the late 2010s when modern poetry was popular are probably now just out of college where they were likely exposed to more classic works of poetry. I think modern poetry probably acted like a gateway to other schools of poetry for many people, especially those who came of age in the late 2010s.

As for whether I think “instapoetry” counts as “real poetry”…I actually to an “Intro to Poetry” literature course at the start of my college journey and I asked the professor (who was also a published poet, in addition to being an academic) what her thoughts on “instapoetry” were. Her answer (paraphrased) was basically “A poem is a poem, regardless of how/where it is published, although there is definitely a difference between a poem and a diary entry.” Which is a very…diplomatically savvy response, I suppose. The reason I say that her response was “diplomatically savvy” is because although she stated that there is a line between poetry and a diary entry, she didn’t go so far as to define where that line is. I think that issue—the issue of wondering where the line between poetry and a diary entry lies—is a lot of what’s behind many people’s skepticism about modern poetry shared on social media. Because I’m not gonna lie, there are definitely a few “instapoems” that I’ve read and thought, “honestly, I don’t quite know if this is actually a poem…” I think the reason I’ve had that thought probably comes down to my own personal ideas of what could be considered a poem, and maybe that’s the crux of the problem: that the definition of what constitutes a poem has become so flexible within popular culture that it is arguably subjective.

When it comes to what I personally think of as “poetry,” I think poetry is more than just a collection of pretty words that evoke emotion. It is also how the poet plays with those words through form, or the lack thereof. The words they choose, how they arrange those words in relation to other words and in relation to the blank space on the page, how they make the words bounce and buzz not only on readers’ lips but also in readers’ minds. And how that poem relates to and even speaks to all of the poetry that came before and will come after the poem in question. Those are the types of things I consider nowadays when reading a poem. And, just to be clear, I’m counting free verse poetry as “valid” poetry in these aspects as well.

Actually, let me give an example!

There’s a reason that

He kicked me down the stairs.

is an example of prose, but

he

kicked me

down the stairs.

can be read as a poem.

Look at the words in the second example. Think about what they mean. Think about how they sound—individually, in groups, and all together as a whole. Think about how the words fill the space. Notice how “he” rhymes with “me.” Notice how the way the words are arranged in the space literally forms the shape of stairs as you progress to the end. It’s playing with rhyme, with rhythm, with literal, physical shape. That’s what makes it noticeably different from just writing

He kicked me down the stairs.

It’s also why I’d say it’s a better example of a poem than, say…

he kicked

me

down

the stairs.

The above example seems more random, like thought wasn’t put into rhythm, rhyme, or format. It looks more like a jumble of words that the writer put on random different lines at various random spots between the words simply because the writer was “trying to be poetic.” To put a fine point on it: it’s clunky.

So, you can see that just because a poem is free verse, doesn’t mean thought wasn’t put into every element of it. As a matter of fact, I’d argue that many times more thought goes into the elements that create a free verse poem.

Of the poets I recommended in my 2020 post, I think I can solidly say that only three have endured as some of my favorite modern poets (who also happen to share work on social media, lol). Those are: Nikita Gill, Rudy Francisco, and Sarah Kay.

I’ve read two of Gill’s poetry collections and own several more collections by her, as well as her recently released YA mythology retelling novel-in-verse, Hekate (which I own in audiobook format, which actually features Gill herself as the narrator). Gill started out writing shorter free verse poetry which used a lot of nature imagery to talk about topics that largely surrounded self-love and she eventually moved on to writing longer free verse poems which involved retelling Greek myths and European fairytales to focus on feminist and mental health related themes. I’ve loved Gill’s work from the start (I discovered her work back in about 2014) and it’s been so amazing to witness how her writing has grown and matured over the past decade. Hekate is high up on my TBR for this reason, and I’m also looking forward to her next book, another novel-in-verse that’s a YA mythology retelling, this time following the Greek goddess Styx.

Rudy Francisco is a bit different from most standard “instapoets” in that he not only writes poetry but also performs his own spoken word poetry. I stumbled across him about ten-ish years ago when I watched a video of his performance of his work “My Honest Poem.” Nowadays, I haven’t come across much work from Francisco, although I’m sure it’s around, I’m just not in the poetry scene online too much anymore. I’d recommend watching a few videos of his performances in addition to reading his written poetry collection Helium, as he truly is a master of his craft in all forms.

Funnily enough, Sarah Kay is also a spoken word poet, and a damn good one at that! I also found her through a video of her performance, which was a TED performance of her spoken word poem “If I should have a daughter…” Sarah, too, is an outstanding master of her craft whose work you should absolutely take a minute to watch. I think she also has published some collections of written poetry, and I also believe that she’s still performing these days too, often with her dear friend and fellow poet, Phil Kaye (no relation).

🌷 two-in-one mini reviews for Nejma by Nayyirah Wahid and The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace

As for the other poets I mentioned in my 2020 post, many of them are still writing today, I just don’t follow their work closely anymore. I will say that I actually read and reviewed two of Amanda Lovelace’s collections, but, unfortunately, they fell short for me. I also read and reviewed a collection by Upile Chisala, and while I enjoyed her work more than Lovelace’s, I just feel like her work wasn’t as developed as Gill’s, Francisco’s, and Kay’s. In addition, I read Nayyirah Wahid’s collections, Salt and Nejma, and enjoyed Salt, but found myself disappointed with Nejma. I also don’t really like Atticus’s works anymore, as they now strike me as kinda…pandering?¹ Oh yeah, and I also read through Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and also found it wasn’t really to my taste.

So, friends, those are my thoughts on instapoetry/social media poetry and my recommendations! I think that for the most part my opinions on the topic haven’t changed since 2020, even though my taste in poetry definitely has. But hey, I think different poems and styles of poetry will speak to you at different times in your life, usually based on what we can personally relate to at that point in time. So, I’m still glad I read works by all of the poets I mentioned, even if I eventually outgrew some of them

1. Tbh, I could say a lot about why I’m not really into Atticus’s works anymore. He just comes off as kinda…slimy? as a poet. The reason I say that is that he writes poetry in the forms of these very flowery affirmations for women specifically, despite the fact that, to my knowledge, he identifies as a cis male. And that strikes me as odd, because as he’s a cis man, he will never truly know the depth of the experience of being a woman, and so his “affirmations” ring kinda hollow. There’s more to why I dislike his work, but that’s really the Big Problem that a lot of my criticism comes down to. He’s pandering to an audience that he has no inherent understanding of. ↩︎

Do you like poetry? What are your thoughts on modern poetry shared through social media? Do you have any favorite modern poets?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.