To not understand the hype around Rupi Kaur poems? (examples attached)

[instagrampoets]

Sorry couldn't find a poetry board (though if there is one please redirect me!)

I just don't understand the hype around these poems? Her book collection "Milk and Honey" was huge, especially amongst young people and I'm wondering if this is a niche of poetry I'm missing the depth of. Most of it just sounds like a passing thought, or an Instagram caption.

Sorry, don't want to sound like a snob or portray myself as a poetry aficionado but I'm interested to see if anyone else can ascribe any deeper meaning to her work or if I'm just thinking too hard about it all!

Some of milk and honey was lovely, not sure about the examples you've given though.

I loved milk and honey.

I bought my teens the Vine version of this for xmas last year. Very funny if you have teens obsessed with vines/memes.

Yanbu OP, the lack of capital letters drives me up the wall as well. It's as you say, poetry made for snappy Instagram captions (though probably not intended to be). I see it all over my social media.

It’s instapoetry so your summary is pretty accurate

Never heard of this person before, totally unimpressed with these poems. Sorry, can't help you

Ha, I hadn't heard of the Vine version @MrsMiaWallis but I've looked it up and it seems very funny! Maybe a gift idea I'll have to steal

If anyone wants to attach any poems of hers they enjoy, or why they enjoy it that would be fab! I don't want to completely slate her work as clearly poetry is subjective, I'm just wondering what the views are on it because it's a niche style of poetry that I can't seem to get into

Milk and Honey was a gateway book into poetry for me. I’m not sure I would buy any more of her books but at the time when I picked it up and bought it on a whim it was a random life changing moment. Without it I think there a real chance I would never have read a poetry book for the rest of my life.

@BlueSkies2020

It’s instapoetry so your summary is pretty accurate

Yup. It’s also a widely-known warning signal, if you’re reading personal statements from students applying to Creative Writing degrees, of someone who can’t tell the difference between poetry and ‘Instagrammable passing thought’.

It's as you say, poetry made for snappy Instagram captions (though probably not intended to be)

Glad I'm not alone in this thinking, @SionnachRua! "I do not need the kind of love that is draining; I want someone who energizes me" to me this isn't an impressive concept? I'm very glad she has a healthy perception on relationships but it all seems a little too much targeted towards people who want to be perceived to be enjoying poetry, without actually enjoying poetry

Sorry all sounds very snobbish but it's how I feel!

we can all
write meaningful poems
at our computer screens
if we type
a little like this

• instagrampoets

Ha, I hadn't heard of the Vine version @MrsMiaWallis but I've looked it up and it seems very funny! Maybe a gift idea I'll have to steal

We were literally crying on xmas day

Maybe I'll get more satisfaction out of that than the original, @MrsMiaWallis! Thank you for the suggestion

I've just seen theres a Milk and Vine 2, so thats xmas morning sorted

Potentially actually more relatable than the original!

Just spat coffee

Love the description of instapoetry. It’s perfectly memeable but makes the poster feel like they’re being intellectual by posting a poem rather than a cheesy quote. Nothing wrong with it but it is very generation Z in it presentation.

YANBU, OP - what she does is not poetry. artsatmichigan.umich.edu/ink/2019/01/12/heres-why-rupi-kaurs-poetry-sucks/

that man ee cummings
raised many questions
and yet
still
has much to answer for.

What I loved about Milk and Honey was that it was poetry....but also a story, like a book. If you read it cover to cover, you went along with her on her journey and the poems did not end at the end of the page, but the thoughts, themes and experiences all moved together in a kind of emotional life story that became clearer and clearer as you came to the end. I loved it!

All of you sneering at what is poetry and what is not, isn't it an expression of your life experiences and feelings, in many forms and styles, just as we as people are different in so many ways? Why is the way you express that acceptable as 'art' / 'poetry' or not, depending on some arbitrary high gilded standard?You all sound a bit pretentious and humourless to be honest. If she wrote something that is meaningful to her, and others read it and it struck a chord of honesty and relevance to them, then surely thats all that matters?

I've never heard of this writer. The 'poems' you've attached to the thread do absolutely nothing for me and I hate the affectation of using only lower case letters.

But, each to their own.

@Lobelia123 how is it sneering? People are allowed to dislike her poems and her style of writing, it's not a crime. Life would be boring if we all liked the same things.

Might be meaningful to her and others - great for them - but if other people think it's a load of wank then that's ok too. I can't stand the writing of the Harry Potter books, many people adore them. That's ok.

Is this what's passing as poetry and humor now . Never heard of this person. These sound like everyday things anyone will say, hardly profound or thought provoking.

There is some amazing poetry out there but I only know this as I sometimes accidentally listen to Poetry Please on Radio 4 on a Sunday (if it's still on).
I suppose some poems resonate with you due to your life experiences.

I am too impatient to read it regularly but some is worth pondering on.

It’s not very deep, is it? There’s lots of other insta-ready poetry out there that does scratch the surface a little more. I love Tyler Knott Gregson.