Being an Instagram Poet
The great value of writing poetry
In the movie Rocky 3, Rocky Balboa successfully defends his world title a number of times, until he loses to ‘Clubber Lane.’ Rocky’s arch rival and friend Apollo Creed takes him to an old run-down boxing gym, where the light is bad and the air-conditioning non-detectable. The gym is packed out with well-conditioned prizefighters. They’re training hard and looking good. Probably most of these prizefighters are unknown to the bloodthirsty public, which makes them hungrier. Apollo says to Rocky, “What do you see, Rocky.” Rocky stares silently. And Apollo says, “The eye of the tiger.” This best describes Instagram poets.
It’s a great place to be. But for the first two months, I was pretty nervous about posting. It felt like stage fright. Every time I posted, the stage curtain opened to maybe a few million people, depending on my hashtags. For the first three months, I deleted and reposted about 50% my work. I looked at the way I wrote, in a whole new way. Poetry was forcing me to look at every composition, every line, every word. And I remembered what Michael Levin said: “Be like a poet and select your words carefully.” Writing everything in pencil first has also been a big help.
I started out with about eight followers, one of them being my biggest fan, my wife. The comments from my first few followers were nice and supportive, but probably said to make me feel good. That was important, as every writer wants to be read. Then I gained more followers: poets, philosophers, teachers, book reviewers, painters, and other kinds of artists. Some of the poetry on Instagram is great. I was like, “Damn, let’s put on some elbow grease and think about things in every possible way.”
I’ve met some wonderful people, and now I’m a part of a support group of around fifteen to twenty poets, all from different backgrounds, countries, religions, and cultures. There is one group leader. We follow two simple rules. It works perfectly. I have increased my following. We give encouragement to each other and cultivate enthusiasm. We respect each other’s work and allow members to have their artistic freedom. There’s no rumor spreading, or BS talk about other group members. The leader decides who comes in. Everybody can stay, so long as the incumbent adheres to the rules. It’s amazing what a bunch of ordinary people can do when all cooperate. The ordinary can become extraordinary.
As a writer, Instagram has helped me to improve my craft and my confidence. My creative thinking is growing more lateral, on top of the foundational knowledge I received from my teacher. Most of all, I’m having fun, which was the first reason for starting writing.
On Instagram, you can come across a diverse range of artistic themes, from poetry about Christianity to the devil, from sweet love to utter heartbreak, from the direct to the obscure. From my experience, it’s great, simply because people respect each other. There’s a strong sense of understanding of what each poet is going through, as we all dig deep into the heart to find something that we want to share.
Initially I followed those who I was comfortable with. After building more confidence, I looked for different poets to follow.
I try to put my feet in the shoes of the writer and feel what they write, and understand why they’re writing a specific piece. When I read Shakespeare or Emerson or Faulkner, I need a dictionary — so too with some of the Instagram poets. It’s a free thinkers paradise.
I have a few rules for following. Basically, I follow those who follow me first. If they unfollow me not long after, I block them for wasting my time. I follow those who are of interest to me; I don’t expect a follow back. Sometimes I unfollow those who I’ve followed, just because I feel there is no reason left to follow them. I give likes and loyalty to those who support me. If somebody is sincere and struggling, I give a little extra support as Michael Levin did with me. But I make sure to put myself first, too. Balancing is hard sometimes, but you can get a groove with most people, most of the time. I take screenshots of all non-public messages and back up the data. I trust just a few, but I’m polite to all.
Whether you’re new to writing or not, come and check out Instagram. Your participation and practice at writing short poetry “pieces” will help you improve your skills.
