![]() In the article, “Selfie-Help: The Multimodal Appeal of Instagram Poetry,” Lili Pâquet argues that the use of hashtags actually qualifies as a form of ekphrasis: Hashtags are an integral part of Instapoetry, functioning as simple metadata tags users can search for, but sometimes hashtags are used to add context to the post itself or even subvert certain conventions or expectations. Notice the use of hashtags in the description. Here is an example from a popular Instapoet who goes by Atticus:Ītticus often makes posts with no visual element, but the writing is similar to this one. Search for #poetry and you’ll find a number of imitators, some almost as successful as Kaur. Kaur’s influence on Instapoetry is undeniable. So, while some of Kaur’s work might necessitate the need for a new term such as, “design poetry,” much of her work functions within the more traditional spaces found within prose and written poetry.īut Kaur’s not the only one creating such work. Some of Kaur’s pieces have no illustrations such as this untitled poem from milk & honey: “my tongue is sour/from the hunger of/missing you (116). In this example, the illustration does not engage with the text as in the previous example. Here is a more recent poem that was published to Kaur’s Instagram account December 15, 2020: This is one of many instances in which one can place Instapoetry outside of the realm of what might be considered “traditional poetry.” I point this out because design poetry is not a widely recognized genre of poetry (if it’s recognized as a genre at all), unlike ekphrasis, which is a very old form of poetry that is widely recognized and studied by scholars. So, while this might be considered ekphrasis, Kaur’s insistence that it’s “design poetry” is a better fit considering how Kaur manipulates the different elements of the poem. Furthermore, the title essentially functions as the ending of the poem. What’s important to recognize though is that metaphor only exists in this poem via the interplay between text and illustration. Now I believe I was too strictly adhering to the particular definition of ekphrasis I had found and so, I don’t see why this poem cannot be considered as such. In my essay on Kaur, I argued that this poem does not count as ekphrasis because, “ it is not Kaur’s words that amplify and expand the meaning of her illustrations but the other way around-It is her illustrations that attempt to amplify and expand the meaning of her words” (“Understanding”). The photo was part of a series on menstruation Kaur was working on as part of a college project on visual rhetoric. Kaur first gained notoriety in 2015 when she uploaded a photograph of herself with a menstruation stain on her pants and bedsheets on Instagram and it was removed for violating Instagram’s standards. Census Bureau, 28 million Americans are reading poetry-the highest percentage of poetry readership in almost two decades. This year, according to a survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. ![]() The publication and success of milk & honey was a catalyst that turned poetry, for perhaps the first time, into a highly profitable industry:Īccording to one market-research group, 12 of the top 20 best-selling poets last year were Insta-poets, who combined their written work with shareable posts for social media nearly half of poetry books sold in the United States last year were written by these poets. Rupi Kaur is a case study in how dramatically the world of poetry has changed The 25-year-old Canadian poet outsold Homer two years ago: Her first collection, milk & honey, has been translated into 40 languages and has sold 3.5 million copies, stealing the position of best-selling poetry book from The Odyssey. A 2018 article in The Atlantic titled, “How Instagram Saved Poetry,” explores Rupi Kaur’s immense success and the new direction of poetry: Rupi Kaur is easily the most famous Instapoet in the world.
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