There’s No Such Thing as Incorrect: On Elitism in Poetry

Written by Nia Mahmud

Graphics by Mahak Saxena

A few months ago I was wandering the poetry aisle in Barnes and Nobles. There was someone else around my age browsing the books, and we made small talk before again dissolving into silence. We ambled around- picking up books, flipping through a few pages. I remember glancing at the books they were picking out to see what kind of poetry they read. The collections they picked were the ones known as ‘insta poetry,’ with short stanzas and illustrations filling a large expanse of pages. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, so they only read that kind of poetry.’ I was instantly ashamed. Who am I to judge the reading habits of a stranger? I read the same kind of poetry, and sometimes I write the same kind of poetry, so why did I think I was better because I was flipping through Robert Frost and Anne Sexton? This led me to think more deeply about elitism in the poetry community, and how these ideas inadvertently affected how I moved through the space.

‘Insta poetry’ describes a vein of poetry that is short, sweet, and easily digestible. It started on Instagram, as the name suggests, and spread to platforms such as Tumblr. The start of insta poetry was, in my opinion, revolutionary to the way poetry is publicly regarded today. None of this is to say that poetry has been unpopular at any point in history. The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer and Shakespeare’s plays are just a few examples to show how relevant poetry has always been. However, these works are widely regarded as classics, but more than that, they seem too high-level and distant to be relatable. For a long time, I and many others viewed poetry as inaccessible- only understandable by high-level academics who used words no one else could understand.

Insta poetry changed that. Authors like Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace, among many, many others, became mainstream. Insta poetry didn’t make poetry interesting, but it allowed people to see that it has always been interesting.

Since the rise of Insta poetry, there has likewise been a rise of public discourse about what counts as real poetry. Soon after short and sweet poetry became popular, there was a very visible shift in people newly deciding to no longer accept it- deeming it less impactful or valuable for readers.

I often hear the question, is this even poetry? Should we, the poetry community, consider or count this as poetry? I think the wrong question is being asked. Poetry wasn’t created for a reserved group of society that gets to decide what does and doesn’t make the cut at the end of the day. The universal rule of poetry is that interpretation is up to the reader. The reader decides how they connect with a body of work based on their lived experiences, while the author could have intended anything of the sort. Similarly, an individual's perception of what should count as poetry will vary from person to person. Therefore, the only question that should matter is: does the author see their work as poetry? Does even one person perceive their work as poetry? If the answer is yes, that’s what matters.

There is a huge difference between saying 'oh, this just isn’t for me' and 'it’s bad and does not count as art because I don’t like it.' And that is where the lines have been blurred. This is a wider discussion I believe should be had, not just in poetry, but in all kinds of art. Just because you may not prefer a particular work doesn’t mean it’s not art. Just because someone has not had formal training in their chosen medium, or because your definition of art is different, doesn’t mean that it’s not art all the same.

Poetry is necessary and closer than we realize. It exists in long stanzas, spoken word, and sometimes just a few words. It exists in the laughter of a loved one, a summer breeze, a secret glance between friends.

There is a quote from the movie Dead Poets Society that reads, “Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” Poetry is necessary, not only for the students that attend the elite private school in the Dead Poet’s Society but for everyone. As such, it should be accessible for everyone- and they should be able to read and write whatever resonates with them.

The stranger in the poetry aisle at Barnes and Nobles probably thought I was pretentious for picking up classics, and they might be right. My assumptions were especially ironic because I am an insta poet, but I had heard so much disdain for it I unintentionally believed some of the elitist ideals constantly floating around. Elitism has no place in poetry or art. Art does not have to look a certain way to be valid- and that is what is so great about it.