introduction - literature on demand

In Act 2 of Hamlet, Polonius declares that “brevity is the soul of wit.” This statement is laced with subversive irony - as counselor to the king, the long-winded Polonius speaks in empty clichés. To his credit, his famous line has proven prophetic. Fast forward four hundred years, and brevity is the lingo du jour. Acronyms replace sentences, and emojis convey innumerable meanings. Tech devotees crave efficient communication, but naysayers warn that insatiable appetites for immediacy will cost us the written word. As the debate over the fate of the English language drones on, we are still penning lengthy texts and swapping GIFS. For now, the alphabet and androids can coexist.

re-inventing writing

The merger of image and writing has spawned numerous internet trends – memes, viral tweets, and vines spawn kooky catchphrases and Ellen appearances. Our desire for shareable, relatable content knows no bounds, and creators are primed to deliver. Enter Atticus - one of these modern information merchants. His typewritten verses, short yet emotive, have garnered millions of social media impressions. Like Polonius, the unconventional wordsmith knows the appeal of less over more. A member of the rising generation of insta-poets, his work is made for swelling vulnerability and shrinking attention spans. In five years, Atticus and his cohorts have pioneered a viral medium. Insta-poetry is admired, mocked, shared, and tattooed on many a twenty-something’s ribcage. Polonius’s famous line may be relegated to literature reviews, but Atticus’s “love her but leave her wild” is a 21-st century youth culture cliché.

fluff or profundity? you decide...

Though insta-poetry is recognizable, its characteristics and boundaries remain murky. As with most digital trends, an inquiry into the genre's appeal and cultural prevalence unearths more questions than answers. What are insta-poetry's defining visual and verbal characteristics? Does it have roots in earlier literary movements, or is it merely punctuation-averse first world problems? Who are the main influencers, and what motivates them? Why are fans so ardently devoted to their favorite wordsmiths? Do political and literary criticisms from academics and internet satirists hold any merit? What role does remixing and platform convergence play in insta-poetry's sustained popularity? May accessible, shareable, do-it-yourself authorship eventually change what it means to be a writer? I hope that you, dear reader, will join me as I explore the highs, lows, and mehs of insta-poetry. I am no modern-day Bard, and I will likely not be brief. I am however, a scatterbrained millennial with an internet connection and something to say – perhaps I am a poet unaware.

instapoetic essentials: Rupi Kaur's "Milk and Honey," Iain Thomas' "I Wrote this for You," & Amanda Lovelace's "The Princess Saves Herself in This One"