It was E.E. Cummings who wrote, “Well, write poetry, for God's sake, it's the only thing that matters.” These words probably encouraged a sea of budding writers for generations. People have grown up reading, loving and writing poetry. However, the nature of poetry itself has changed over the years, and so has the publishing methods.
While mainstream publishers may not take up the works of every aspiring poet, social media has opened up a space for everyone with a desire to express. Now we know that it has a flip side. But for poetry lovers, it is the dream.
This space is not limited to sharing one's own work. There are a section of readers who are reviving the works of literary greats like of Ghalib through various platforms. For instance, the @thought_keeper uses Instagram only to share couplets written by others.
While many tend to dismiss 'open source' writers as amateurs, there are many thriving poets writing about social issues and connecting with readers online. "Social media has given a voice to incredible women of different colours and other marginalised section of society. Poets are no more a gated community, everyone can publish their work," says Harnidh Kaur, a policy analyst by profession and a poet by passion. Ms. Kaur has accumulated more than 17,000 followers on the photo sharing site alone and she is one of the many popular female Instapoets with dedicated readers.
The authors also share their works through other platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Writers like of @brian_bilston have used Twitter to attain celebrity status. Hindi film actor Arunoday Singh, who goes by the same @sufisoul on Instagram, is quite a sensation. But unlike many other film actors, he uses the photo-sharing medium to put out his "honest work of art" and less selfies.
"I don't have to maintain an image. It is an excellent place for people like me who desire to share honest thoughts and there is an audience who will relate to you," he said. The actor-poet, who hopes to publish a book, added that the non-monetary benefits of social media keeps the work fresh and truthful.
"One can always have a book published but hardly anyone will know. Social media helps in creating a fan base," reflects young engineering student Khawaja Musadiq. Deeply influenced by the works of fellow Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali, and Persian poet Rumi, Musadiq penned his first work titled Lost Paradise , an ode to Kashmir, a few years ago.
"That is when I discovered that I can do this," he added. The discovery then led to him joining Instagram and Twitter. "The best part of publishing work on social media is getting direct feedback from people," he quips, sharing his ability to understand the perspective of even the ones who criticise his writing.
They are not limited to the online media space, authors like Rupi Kaur have successfully moved on to publishing books and earning invitation to poetry slams. She has over 2.4 million followers on Instagram and about two lakh on Twitter.
For the poetry lovers around the world there is much to look forward to. From manuscript to digital, the medium might have changed but people continue to feed on the power of words. As Robert Frost said,“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words."
