#INSTAPOETRY, THE NEW POESY INDULGENCE
Social media platforms like Instagram is often the place where many millennials are introduced to the art of poetry
Eighteen-year-old Londoner Danique Bailey is one of the new generation poets who are using social media to revive the beauty of art. Danique was among the 100 winners of last year’s Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award; an international competition for 11 to 17-year-olds from over 83 countries.
“Social media made a lot more people interested in poetry, including myself,” she said, calling it a “really fun and satisfying way to express yourself in a short amount of space.” Off late, the popularity of Instagram poetry and even open-mic sessions has grown among people in Delhi-NCR, thus sparking their interest in the art of poetry (see box).
Judith Palmer, director of the Poetry Society, suggested that people were turning to poetry because it grapples “with existential questions that people are trying to come to terms with... about our lives in uncertain times.
‘INSTAPOETS’
Her group’s research found that Instagram was often the place where people were introduced to poetry for the first time. Indian-born Canadian Rupi Kaur, 26, is one of the stars of this platform, boasting 3.7 million subscribers. The youth and the diversity of the Instapoets has made teenagers aware that not all poems are written “by dead white men from 200 years ago,” said Palmer.
‘MORE VISUAL’
Young fans often set up poem playlists that they listen to on their phones and tablets which they also use to search for and share new material, she said. The National Poetry Library in London has already attempted to ride the wave last year by organising the firstever exhibition devoted to poetry on Instagram.
Chris McCabe ,poet and Joint Librarian of the Poetry Library in London told AFP that he was surprised by the ingenuity and creativity by the poems that drew inspiration from various subjects ranging from politics to Nature, written with fridge magnets or on a typewriter, accompanied by photos, videos and even illustrations. “The language is often much simpler than you would get in a traditional poem,” he said.
‘MAKES AN IMPACT’
Instagram sensation Nikita Gill, 32, explains how she used the medium saying that she normally posts “very few lines of poetry... and it immediately makes an impact”. She puts the success down to the idea that “it’s really moving when someone shares something really personal with you”. The British-Indian author of Great Goddesses, said that this new way of communicating “dispels that notion that one can only read poetry if you’ve a literature degree”.