Rupi Kaur: A Poet Against the World

It is very difficult to own Instagram accounts without being familiar with the growing tread of Instapoetry. Most of us avid scrollers regularly stumble upon — either by accident or drawn by the novelty of its content — the concise, often simplistic but incontrovertibly prolific emergence of poetry displayed on Instagram. The sub-genre holds a distinctive place among modern poetry as Instagram poets, or Instapoets, have recently taken over a notable percentage (a staggering 12%) of the genre’s sales, and throning amongst her numerous disciples rules the Queen of Instapoetry, Rupi Kaur. The Canadian of Punjab descent, spoken poetry performer, and acclaimed author attained world-wide fame through the self-publication of her first work Milk and Honey which swiftly reached №1 New York Times best-sellers in 2014. Although, whilst the collection of poems became a rapid success, its reception has left both the format and its content to be desired, as harsher critics have questioned the authenticity and the necessity of the sub-genre.

When navigating through the giant of photo sharing social networking service, we are bound, wherever we scroll, to stumble upon a manifestation of catharsis in the shape of a short statement broken down into a few verses. Waldman, a staff writer at The New Yorker, argues that some of the characteristics shared between emerging instigators of such a style are “brevity, a self-mythology that unforgiving critics will call narcissism, inclusiveness that often manifests as a lack of specificity, affirmation of readers’ emotions, and the thesis (more felt than reasoned through) that damage is beautiful and beauty damaging”, and thus, according to the journalist, is passing by the main point: “There has to be a better way to lift up people with problems than to declare that problems are beautiful. Who cares if problems are beautiful? They’re problems!” Although it is arguable that literature, in any of its numerous forms, has not often directly solved problems, it is quite unusual to expect creative writing to have such a purpose. Indeed, the intention behind the manifestation of struggles in the form of poetic display is not made to solve said problems (at least not at first), but instead to share our sentiments so that they could be simply acknowledged, understood, and eventually supported. And in dissecting its content, the manifesto is flagrantly amplified due to the isolated words which we are more likely to pay attention to when avidly scrolling through the platform. This particular catharsis works as a cycle as it invites a simple articulation of feelings which are not always perceived or understood by others, thus emerging a sense of common identity that creates a positive and loving community. In light of the rise of feminism, and the revelations of existing struggles in womanhood, Rupi Kaur invites and empowers others as they consolidate the movement to fight against common social controversies. In an interview on Our Shared Shelf, a book club hosted by Emma Watson, Kaur exclaims that “Poetry allows you to process emotion and it allows you to express it. And its crazy that such a low percentage of people actually use it as a tool to heal and as a tool to share. So I think it’s great that we are at a time now where so many more people are reading and using it.”

More importantly, Instapoetry is doing more good than harm in the world of literature. In his New York Times article Why Rupi Kaur and Her Peers Are the Most Popular Poet’s in the World, Carl Wilson defends the emergence of the style by asserting that “Instapoetry may mark the advent of a young adult subgenre the form has generally lacked”. Wilson then draws attention to the fact that the average of poetry readers in America had been severely decreasing from the early 00’s by dismal statistics, making Instagram a tremendous opportunity to nurture avid scrollers into appreciating poetry, however concise, and thus sparking interest in literature on a wider scale. Additionally, it is important to retain that literary movements and explorations, however celebrated nowadays, were not always welcomed with open arms. Interestingly, the two opposing opinions with regards to Instapoetry share a common scuffle with another literary revolution. In early 19th century, literature saw the birth of Romanticism, a movement then not defined by its users, but, indeed, by its contemporary critics. Although the general consensus of a literary movement is to barge through the doors of established traditionalism, the intent behind Romanticism particularly resembles the contemporary emergence of Instapoetry as the argued controversies are almost identical. Similarly to Instapoetry, the movement was an explosion of emotional expression. Amongst a constellation of independent authors growing a certain need to ‘feel’ due to abrupt industrialisation and rationalism brought about with the Age of Enlightenment, each minding their own but obliviously sharing common writerly traits, was the movement born. Very much like today’s rise of feminism, #metoo movement, mental health awareness, social virtues and the rising revelation of explicit experience of womanhood in society, the need to express feelings that have been otherwise repressed by social constructs is exploding. And Instagram gives exactly the platform required to encourage authors to share their thoughts and feelings in a protective dome that supports, encourages and praises honesty.

Within such a caring environment, it is a shame to find heightened criticism. But then again, just like Instapoetry, Romanticism faced judgment in its early establishment. Throughout the upheaval of Romantics in France in 1820’s, the term a la mode to define the new style was especially chosen to inculcate “the bad poetry of the time” by the defenders of literary traditions from the liberal press Le Constitutionel. At the forefront of its criticism stood Jean Viennet, a classical liberal and satirist who accused Romanticism of being vague and undefined by its masters (who, again, did not coin the term, did not have any agenda, but simply wanted a freedom of literary expression). In his Epitre aux Muses sur les Romantiques, a satirical outcry against the movement, he writes: “’Tis an I don’t know what, enrapturing and sweet; The less ’tis understood, the more it is esteemed.” Arguably, Romanticism also evoked problems that Viennet did not seem to understand either.

Hence, if we remain unsure about the potential of Instapoetry, I would like to invite the reader to reflect and refer to history. The 19th century French critics, no matter how dogmatic, could not have prevented the need for Romanticism. Traditionalists may not have understood the need for romanticism, but millions of other artists and readers did. Once the accidental instigators both acknowledged and embraced their contribution to the movement, thus increasing the value of their work and the authenticity of their art form, Romanticism became a prolific and dominant movement. Its focus on themes such as nature, heroism and beauty, was launched by now acclaimed authors such as Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Jane Austen and countless others. We have marvelled at their works throughout our education, cherished their minds whilst travelling long distances, and worshiped their verses in the midst of a passionate conversation. Already, many aspiring poets find the confidence provided by the insta-community to pick up the quill and publish their works. Who knows where the next giants will come from and what works will be treasured in the years to come. Only time will truly judge the value and legacy of literary innovations. But first, they must be freed so to be discovered.