Poetry has been seen for some time as an art form that only appeals to a small group of specialists. But it is enjoying an unexpected rebirth in the 21st century, with some of the best-selling collections of all time having been published in the past few years. The cause of this revival of public interest is, unexpectedly, Instagram. Shared as posts on the social media platform, so-called “Instapoems” have made poets such as Rupi Kaur into powerful and wealthy influencers whose readings attract audiences of thousands. Instapoetry has become a global movement, with poets in many languages from English to Urdu, and poets from Greece to Botswana, finding new audiences and new admirers. However, the form has not been without controversy. Academic critics and literary figures have lined up to rubbish Instapoetry as simplistic or badly-written, some saying that Instapoems are not even poems at all. In this podcast, we will discuss the ways that Instagram has opened doors for a young, working class, ethnically diverse group of writers to share their truth with the world, the ways that academic criticism tries to suffocate this movement, and the ways that Instapoems can be used in the classroom to inspire pupils to engage for the first time with poetry.

Speakers:

Dr James Mackay, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, European University Cyprus

Dr Anna Nacher, Associate Professor, Institute of Audiovisual Arts, Jagiellonian University (Poland)

Dr JuEunhae Knox, early career researcher, University of Glasgow (UK)