Instagram Poets

October 11, 2019

“My Gift Is the Sculpture” by Brian Sonia-WallacePosted by

Brian Sonia-Wallace | @rentpoet

black text on white background: My gift is the sculpture no one bought, clay me in your moulding and when you're gone I'll find myself fired quite unexpectedly.

rentpoet I think this might be the best thing I wrote this weekend. A woman approached near the end of my writing time with the PEN Center, and I told her I was wrapping up. She said, “It’s okay, I was going to give you a sad [topic] anyway.” Of course, I couldn’t let her walk away after that. She shared with me that her husband, a sculptor, had recently passed. When I asked what he sculpted, she said “Always different things! So of course he wasn’t commercially successful.” It’s moments like these that keep me in wonder at what I get to do, moment to moment. I wasn’t planning to share this piece, but she shared it on her socials so I feel permission to share it publicly.
 
#poem #poetry #art #artist #love #loss #sculpture #mourning #typewriterpoet #typewriter #typewriterpoetry #storyteller #storytelling #witness

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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Brian Sonia-Wallace: “Instagram gives me a place to share the poems I write for strangers on my typewriter as RENT Poet. The poems get another audience, and sometimes it helps me to unburden myself of the stories people trust me with by sharing them in this form with others. Many of my posts are re-posts from the people I’ve written these poems for—my favorite thing is to see where the poems wind up, whether on a bedside table or a door, the way they continue to live in people’s lives. Online, the relationships that started when I wrote the poem continue.” (web)

 

Tonight’s guest on the Rattlecast is Brian Sonia-Wallace. Click here to watch live …

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October 7, 2019

“One Smile” by Eva SimmonsPosted by

Eva Simmons | @eva.m.simmons

black text on white background: one smile / and you use my heart / against me

eva.m.simmons #poetry #instapoet #writer #poem #poets #prose #books #poetrylovers #inspiration #writing #art #poemsofig #poetsociety #poetryofinstagram #author #FromWaterandBone #EvaSimmons #EMSimmons #poetryofig #published #book #newrelease #lovequotes

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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Eva Simmons <@eva.m.simmons>: “Instagram is the perfect setting for written and visual art to mix. Today, social media plays an integral role in creating and sharing art. This is especially relevant with poetry because of the power it has to make powerful statements in short verse. Instagram helps share poetry quickly in a fast-paced world and puts your work immediately in the hands of readers. This was ideal for gaining followers prior to releasing my first self-published poetry collection. Publishing on Instagram allows the writer to maintain control over their own work and for them to share with the world. The downfalls continue to be plagiarism, but that is not unique to social media platforms. Overall, I have met a wonderful community of writers and had a great experience.” (web)

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October 2, 2019

“There Is No Poetry in Loving Someone Else” by Pavana ReddyPosted by

Pavana Reddy | @mazadohta

black text on white background: there is no poetry in loving someone / who is in love with someone else

mazadohta Poem from the Harvest Moon chapter of #wheredoyougoalone

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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Pavana Reddy: “Poetry is making a story out of a moment. You can unpack any moment so many different ways, and that’s what I like to do.” (web)

 

Pavana was the guest on Rattlecast #5 in August. Click here to watch!

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September 23, 2019

“I Should Change the Light” by Gabrielle NelsonPosted by

Gabrielle Nelson | @thecathearsyou

blue wallpaper pattern with text: I should change the light, I think of changing the ice and water, the shiftlessness and ecstasy of The Sea. —Cat to Rat

thecathearsyou I should change the light, I think of changing the ice and water, the shiftlessness and ecstasy of The Sea. —Cat to Rat
#cattorat #erasurepoetry #loveletters #foundpoetry #blackoutpoetry #erasure #paperart #bookart #greatgatsby #poetsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #thesea #poetry #original

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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Gabrielle Nelson: “Instagram is an ideal venue for visual work that can be digested in a single breath or savored. ‘I Should Change the Light’ is one poem from a growing body. It is part of a collection of short, art enhanced, erasure poems I’ve found/created/revealed using The Great Gatsby. Instagram provides real-time feedback on my work by tracking likes and views. It’s the largest (and most casual) writing workshop in the world, and it’s free! Because my collection is in-progress, Instagram is ideal. I can gauge the reactions of viewers, and alter or preserve my writing style accordingly. Two years ago, I came across an article that championed earning 100 rejections a year by Kim Liao. The goal being that 100 rejections would come with acceptances from established magazines and journals, agents, fellowships, etc. With Instagram, I have more options to share my work and can chew through less rejections before finding sweet success. Instagram is like giving a piece of candy to my writing ego. My writing is accepted as soon as I click ‘share,’ and I get a sugar rush of writing inertia. I want to create more and feed my sweet tooth. I’m still aiming for 100 rejections a year, but now I’m also aiming for 100 poems a year on Instagram. Both are valid platforms for finding success as a writer.” (web)

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September 18, 2019

“No Gold the Dawn” by LQ McDonald IIIPosted by

LQ McDonald III | @lqmcdonaldthethird

dark flower with text: No gold pursues the dawn / no green the spring. / there is no song of happiness / that love untended sings

lqmcdonaldthethird not gold the dawn
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#wordsofnature #poem #poetry #naturepoetry #poems
#lovepoems #poemsofinstagram #poetrycommunity
#lovepoemsofinstagram #poetsandwriters #poemsofig
#writerspocket #poet #poetrygram #poetryislove #poetrynerd
#naturepoem #poetsandwritersfeature #communityofpoetry
#poets_community #poemporn #naturepoems #poetryisnotdead
#poetrylovers #instapoem #poemsoninstagram #spilledink
#poemcommunity #poetrylife #lovepoetry

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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LQ McDonald III: “As poems for me are quick-born and capricious eruptions, it is nice to have a medium that allows for instant exposure of those emotional expressions. Getting them out in front of people in such an immediate manner allows me to connect with their reaction to the words in the same way that I connect with the words themselves; spontaneously and directly. I think you can lose some of the gravity of the art with a medium like Instagram and differentiating yourself can be difficult with so much unabridged material to choose from.” (web)

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September 13, 2019

“Simple Prayer” by Christopher McCurryPosted by

Christopher McCurry | @m_c_c_u_r_r_y

Text: Let me be punk enough / to love the leash.

m_c_c_u_r_r_y Small poems.

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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Christopher McCurry: “I’ve only toyed around with Instagram. I ended up not using it much because my students follow me, and I don’t want to worry about what I post there. Stops the creativity for me. The immediate audience and ability to link to other content is seductive. We know how much time people spend on their phones, so why not put some poems in front of them. I wasn’t going to submit until reading Erik Campbell’s essay. Then I felt it was necessary. Poetry can grow, adapt as our technology does. I believe that.” (web)

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September 9, 2019

“Cider” by David LukasPosted by

David Lukas | @dc_lukas

typewriter text: I want to write a poem / about the old white house

#sunday #poetry #poem #poems #poetrycommunity #writing
#writerscommunity #writingcommunity #newpaltz #hudsonvalley

—from Rattle #64, Summer 2019
Tribute to Instagram Poets

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David Lukas: “While I have had a number of poems published in traditional journals and reviews, I began publishing my work on Instagram. I did this originally to gain some feedback on what I was working on and continue to use it as a sort of community workshop, but in the last two years this platform has also allowed me to connect with other writers and publishers, as well as gain some new friends, across the country, along the way. I do believe so much is ‘lost’ compared to traditional publishing. Whoever reads a poem on Instagram is doing so while scrolling through social media, on a phone screen. I think real reading and ‘experiencing’ a poem requires the time and patience and focus to sit and read words on actual paper, without distraction, which is exactly what social media is in the first place. I will always feel pretty guilty for publishing my words on this platform, but I tell myself, as long as I’m still submitting to actual publications, and becoming close with the feeling of rejection, it is at least a little forgivable.” (web)

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