Instapoetry and the Death of Literature
Instapoetry: a style of written poetry that gained popularity on instagram. It is also a play on the word ‘instant’, which refers to how long it takes to both write and consume this brand of poetry.
Over the last few years, writers like Rupi Kaur, Amanda Lovelace, Atticus, and Aliza Grace have taken the internet by storm with their relatable and easily-digestible writing. While they have brought a lot of funding into the publishing industry with the massive success of their works, they have been criticised for their largely commercial take on literature. They are often short, sweet, and paired with aesthetically pleasing yet simple drawings.
What Is Poetry?
The exact definition of poetry has been debated for a considerable amount of time by a multitude of writers and literary critics. While the majority of critically acclaimed poetry has moved away from strict rhyme and metre schemes (free verse), the level of skill required for the craft has not decreased. Plenty of free verse poets still utilise literary techniques such as alliteration, metaphors, and allusions, which can rarely be found in Instapoetry.
The issue most people have with Instapoetry is that it not only lacks the defining traits of poetic verse, but also lacks depth and creativity altogether. It is overt and straightforward, leaving little to analyse and reflect on. Furthermore, the situations depicted in Instapoems are often vague, as though they were written for the purpose of being reposted on readers’ Instagram stories with little external context. It is through social media that Instapoets are able to build such large fanbases.
Milk and Honey
(Extract ‘Untitled’ from Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur)
The New Republic named Rupi Kaur the 2010s ‘Writer of the Decade’, with the success of her debut work Milk and Honey, as well as all her subsequent works. While Kaur’s role as a South Asian woman in a white-dominated literary scene has been regarded as valuable, she has also been criticised for plagiarising other poets, as well as diluting trauma when trying to depict the collective South Asian female experience.
Her popularity is so widespread that my aunt once bought me a copy of Milk and Honey with the intention of helping me get through my exams. I accepted it gracefully, but I couldn’t help but be frustrated with the fact that she had spent over RM100 on a hardcover book whose contents consist of nothing more than shallow writing, mediocre art, and plenty of wasted space.
In the eyes of many critics, the most frustrating aspect of Rupi Kaur’s work is that some of her poems do show genuine potential. For example, ‘midweek sessions’ is generally regarded as one of her better works. However, it appears as though she chooses to publish bite-sized, formulaic poetry instead of actually honing her craft. Many view this as disrespectful towards the art of poetry, with a piece from Society19 claiming that she “shits on the core foundation that constitutes literature as a whole, and thus her work isn’t poetry no matter how much popularity she may gain.”
Adultolescence
(Extract ‘Flies’ from Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna)
With the rise of Instapoetry came a wave of celebrities and influencers, such as Lili Reinhart and Megan Fox, who have decided to publish poetry collections with the same formula. Gabbie Hanna’s Adultolescence, however, gained the most scrutiny, as she was one of the first to do so. Much like with Rupi Kaur’s work, many people criticised the lack of subtlety and nuance in Hanna’s poetry. What you see is what you get.
One of her poems, ‘Iron’, reads as follows:
“When I was young
my mom used to check if the iron was hot
by touching it,
and, I don’t know,
I just feel like there’s
a metaphor in there somewhere.”
(Extract ‘Iron’ from Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna)
And Hanna is right. There could very well be a metaphor in there somewhere. A metaphor that she could have developed into a genuinely good poem. However, she instead chooses to waste it, lazily publishing a half-formed idea. Many have criticised this approach, stating that her poor writing infantilizes the severity of the topics mentioned in her poems.
In a now-deleted video announcing her more recent collection ‘Dandelion’, Hanna said “People aren’t scrambling very often to read the ‘Iliad’ or the ‘Odyssey.’ They’re great works, but it’s not what people want to sit down and read. I assume, if it was anything like when I was in school, most students aren’t jumping for joy when they’re assigned Shakespeare. But, people are really into books like ‘Milk and Honey.’”
The issue with this is, not only does Hanna not have sufficient understanding of the literary greats, she does not seem interested in learning. It is common knowledge that writers must first be avid readers, or else their work will be subpar. Even with writers who do not follow convention, rules must first be understood before broken. Hanna, on the other hand, does not have this solid foundation, nor does she seem to have an appreciation for literature. She says that people are really into books like Milk and Honey, insinuating that she is only concerned with what is popular and what can make her money, which, again, is the basis for Instapoetry.
While Hanna argues that her poetry is very personal to her and therefore can be excused from its lack of substance, the unspoken rule of publishing is that: once you expect people to pay money for your work, anyone has the right to criticise it.
The Death of Literature
Some people have argued that Instapoetry is justified in its nature, as it is more widely accessible and encourages more people to read. Publishing houses therefore make more money that can be spent on publishing other genuinely outstanding literary works.
However, others argue Instapoetry still does more harm than good by bastardising the definition of poetry, as well as stripping it of its nuances and intricacies. Instapoetry is shallow, not only because of its content, but because of its purpose. It is about as mass-produced as it gets. It is written to be printed in quaint little books that sit on your coffee table, or reposted on social media to fit into an ‘aesthetic’.
In the age of social media, it appears as though critical thinking has waned. Everything is far more superficial, and literary spaces are no exception. With the rise of BookTok, many novels are published and promoted purely based on what tropes and demographics they fit into. And while tropes are by no means what makes a novel bad, stories are now being written to suit certain popular tropes, instead of having tropes simply be a part of an already established plotline. As a part of this phenomenon, the same thing has happened with poetry. The masses no longer want to devote time and effort into understanding not only nuanced writing, but nuanced situations as well.
Thom Young, a poet who created a fake Instapoetry account to mock the genre, said he thought that “people today don’t want to read anything that causes a whole lot of critical thinking,” and this proves evident in the very nature of Instapoetry. Poetry, as a genre, cannot simply be pretty words accompanied by pretty doodles. It is an art form.
In his novel ‘The Ode Less Travelled’, author Stephen Fry says “Poems are not read like novels. There is much pleasure to be had in taking the same fourteen-line sonnet to bed with you and reading it many times over a week. Savour, taste, enjoy. Poetry is not made to be sucked up like a child’s milkshake, it is much better sipped like a precious malt whisky. Verse is one of our last stands against the instant.” This idea goes against everything Instapoetry is: which is, quite plainly, instant.
[Written By: Kianna Chan, Edited By: Adryna Chin]
