The unstoppable rise of the Instagram poets

The unstoppable rise of the Instagram poets

Roses are red / violets are blue / these guys are famous now / jealous, aren’t you?

It’s 2008. Obama’s running for president, Alexandra Burke is UK artist of the year, Instagram and Tinder don’t exist yet. Poetry is something you learn at school, then forget about.

Fast forward a decade and more than a few things have changed. Trump’s in office, Drake is king and life would be unimaginable without Deliveroo. And poetry has been catapulted into the public eye again, primarily by one young woman’s Instagram account.

If you haven’t heard the name Rupi Kaur, you’ve probably been living under a rock. The poet, now 25, began posting her poetry on social media platforms in 2013, but hit international fame in 2015 when Instagram accidentally (depending on who you ask) censored a photo she posted because it showed a period leakage. Her short, punctuation-less poems cover broad themes like love, heartbreak and abuse, and they’re often paired with doodled line drawings.

Kaur’s popularity led to her first collection being picked up and published – and the resulting book, Milk and Honey, featured in The New York Times bestseller list for a mind-boggling 77 weeks, smashing expected sales figures and rocketing poetry into the millennial mainstream. 

 

Then came the perhaps-inevitable backlash against Kaur (pronounced ‘core’, in case you were wondering). It started with literary critics, who called her “disingenuous” and accused her of caring too much about how her poems looked online (ignoring that aesthetics are becoming a bigger part of life with every swipe and like). The public went for her next, via mocking tweets and memes, usually signed off with Kaur’s famous signature “-rupi kaur”. Highlights of these include “I shoved a whole / bag of jellybeans / up my ass” and “are you guys fucking? / are you serious? / right in front of my salad? / you guys are fucking gross.”


 It started with literary critics, who called her “disingenuous” and accused her of caring too much about how her poems looked online (ignoring that aesthetics are becoming a bigger part of life with every swipe and like).


But despite the scorn, Kaur became the darling of poets and feminists alike, attracting a bigger – mainly young, female – audience to her work. Her fanbase has continued to grow since then, to 2.5 million Instagram followers, and she’s inspired a whole generation of social media poets, most of whom are under 30. Instagram is their main hunting ground, but other platforms like Tumblr and Twitter have also been popular.

 

So what does social media offer that old-school, pen-and-paper poetry doesn’t? I asked keen instapoets David Luse (@david.luse) and Tilly* (@ink_stained_fingertips) what they thought.

Tilly reckons there are loads of advantages to publishing on Instagram, which she describes as “brilliant”. She points out that it’s free, so “anyone around the world can access it... and have a voice” and can also, if they wish, stay anonymous. Publishing anonymously removes the fear of becoming a joke, so means wannabe poets are more willing to have a go.

Tilly and David both admit that on Instagram there’s a massive focus on aesthetics, but neither think that’s a particularly bad thing. They each say that they spend longer working on the look of posts than they’d like, but that because Instagram is a such a visual platform, it’s pretty unavoidable if they want their work to be read.


 Publishing anonymously removes the fear of becoming a joke, so means wannabe poets are more willing to have a go.


They also prefer the “simplicity” and “casualness” of instapoetry over regular poetry – its snappy, thought-like bursts resonate with them both. David says that it stops him from overanalysing his work, and allows him “to move on” instead. His favourite accounts are “raw and real”, because their themes help him to break down personal walls. Meanwhile Tilly focuses more on the self-love ideals that a lot of instapoetry pushes, echoing the messages of positivity and affirmation that have been having a global moment recently.  

Tempted to join in? Here are a few great accounts to inspire you. Who knows – you could be the next R. H. Sin. WARNING: You may lose several hours once you dive into the instapoetry community; it’s less niche than you might think. But at least there’s no three-hour exam at the end.

1. R. M. Drake (@rmdrk

 

One of the biggest names after Rupi Kaur, R.M. Drake (real name Robert Macias) has a cool 1.8 million followers. His poems are a little longer than most instapoets’, but clearly that hasn’t affected his popularity.

Follow for: Deep, hopeful messages that’ll get you thinking.

 

2. Lang Leav (@langleav)

 

With 440k followers, this bestselling author and poet is kind of a big deal; she blurs the lines between poetry and prose excellently. But if you’ve had a few glasses of wine, she might make you cry.


Follow for: Self-exploration (but not like that).

 

3. Atticus (@atticuspoetry)

 

This Canadian poet is a literal masked man, remaining anonymous despite his 650k followers. He’s basically the Daft Punk of instapoetry. He’s also been accused of mansplaining and general mawkishness, but gets plenty of adoration from people who can stomach his romantic poetry. Some even have his words tattooed on their bodies. You decide.


Follow for: Whiskey and cigarette fuelled lady-adoration.


4. Quarter Life Poetry (@quarterlifepoetry)

 

Run by @samanthajayne, this popular account (135k followers) pokes fun at itself and posts super-relatable short poems. February’s post reads: “This Valentine’s Day / I need not a fella; / For my heart belongs / to this tub of Nutella”

Follow for: Snappy, relevant witticisms


*Name has been changed.

@lexibickell