Instapoetry, who's worried? Not me.
Source: Instagram, Rupi Kaur
Why are we so worried about “Instapoetry”? | New Statesman
When he was 31 years old, Robert Macias was working as an art director for the TV and digital media company Univision in its “content creation facility” in Miami. Macias, the son of Colombian parents and a graduate who majored in digital communication and media, oversaw projects in marketing and adver-tising. He worked with brands including McDonalds and Kellogg’s, creating “visually compelling and engaging interactive experiences for the web”. Now, you’re more likely to know Macias as r.m. drake, the New York Times-bestselling poet with 1.9 million followers on Instagram. He has published 14 collections of poetry, has a number of celebrity followers…
Me: I’m amazed about how many poets seemed to be worried about Instapoetry. If you don’t know about it. You probably don’t know about Eugene the Egg either, which is pretty much the most popular IG post ever.
And back in 2017, Rupi Kaur: the inevitable backlash against Instagram's favourite poet
Kaur’s verses on love, sex and race have made her the most revered – and reviled – of today’s ‘instapoets’. As a new collection The Sun and Her Flowers hits shelves, is the social media star a dark omen for poetry or a fresh voice in literature?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2017/oct/04/rupi-kaur-instapoets-the-sun-and-her-flowers
And, in 2018,
Poetry world split over polemic attacking 'amateur' work by 'young female poets'
Writing in PN Review, Rebecca Watts has slammed the popularity of writers such as Rupi Kaur and Hollie McNish as ‘consumer-driven content’
Me: What is poetry? A question as old as some hills. I am all for poetry. If prose is to walking, as poetry is to dancing, then who’s to say what’s a poor dance - if it gets you dancing….? I think my metaphor is stretched….