kaleb-is-definitely-sane reblogged

thou-mine-inheritance-quotes

When God asks a question, He isn’t launching an interrogation; He’s staging an intervention.

“Adam, where are you?”

“Cain, where is your brother?”

“Hagar, where have you come from & where are you going?”

“Woman, where are your accusers?”

“Peter, do you love me?”

“Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

We always think about the questions we have for God…but I wonder if we should pay more attention to the questions God has for us.

–Dr. Glenn Packiam

#poetry inspiration #questions

kaleb-is-definitely-sane reblogged

lexiandliterature

inkedwingss asked:

Hot take on Kaur, I'm glad to see someone else is awake.

lexiandliterature answered:

i'm genuinely surprised that more people aren't talking about this but i guess i will.

i'll first preface this with the fact that i understand why people like this kind of "poetry." it's accessible, it's easy to understand, and most importantly, its relatable. but is that what poetry is? i'm not sure, you tell me. more importantly, is that what poetry's become? if it is, it's quite sad.

the way i think about instagram poetry is that someone had an idea, found a few nice words that went with said good idea, and then... gave up writing the rest of the poem. they then proceeded to click enter a few times to make it appeal to the eye and draw some line art that is vaguely related to the poem but would be more impactful IF THE POEM WAS ACTUALLY FINISHED. a lot of the lines kaur writes are not that bad, sometimes they pack a punch and if they were with an actual fleshed out poem, i don't think it would be so bad.

my main issues with here are that:

her writing screams lazy and i personally don't believe she can classify this as poetry. there is no fleshed out effort and certainly no intention. if you asked me to identify what exactly makes her writing unique i would say the brevity, which isn't so much a writing style as it is just a pure lack of care.
something i will get into in a later post, is the fact that she's marketing blank pages. she is profiting off of having 2 words on a page, a tiny drawing of something and then nothing on the rest of the page. let that sink in. she is making money off of her relatable content that can't even comprise one page of work. i am so certain that if you tried to jam all of her work on to a page, you would be able to fit most of it onto like 3 pages maximum.

the irony of all of this is that this 2-3 line work of i don't even know what is likely PLAGIARIZED. that's right. she stole someone else's work to shorten it into this abomination. i have no words.

kaleb-is-definitely-sane reblogged

lexiandliterature

let's talk about rupi kaur and why she's everything wrong with online culture.

i've heard many a good review about rupi kaur and her poetry and i will tell you right now that i confidently disagree. in case you don't know who she is, rupi kaur is a "poet" on instagram with over 4.5 million followers known for her short but impactful poems that captivate the hearts of millions of people around the world.

her rise to fame caught the tidal wave of internet virality as she self published her first collection, Milk & Honey, earning critical acclaim. I like to call it milk our money but i'll get to that in another post.

let's first define poetry for what it is. though this definition can depend on who you ask, i like to think of poetry in four main categories: theme, meter, form, and intention. theme is just the general topic of the poem and the way the poet goes about addressing it. meter is the rhythm and rhyme pattern; it's the way it sounds when you read it aloud and the way that sound hits your ear. form is the way it looks, the way it reads, how that affects the way you say it and the way the words are perceived. and finally let's talk about intention. how is she choosing her words, how is she placing them in an order that is interesting, and how is she using literary devices to aid her story?

(if you want to see these categories done well, then it will have to be a whole different post because this could take awhile.)

so let's talk about rupi kaur's poetry in these four categories starting with this 2 LINE POEM that doesn't have a title.

"and here you are living despite it all"

-rupi kaur

wow. inspirational. 2 lines, with no punctuation whatsoever. this isn't even a sentence. we're off to a great start.

so theme. this poem is about overcoming something difficult. what difficulty? i could not tell you. there is no more information. at least she has an idea. the "you" is likely addressing the readers, thus suggesting that the purpose of the line being so general is to appeal to everyone (this is another issue i'll get into some other time).
let's talk about meter now. there's really nothing to say, there is none. there is no rhythm, no rhyme scheme, no nothing. and i'm not saying every poem has to have these things, it's just to say that if she doesn't have this, her poem needs to be interesting in other ways (which spoiler alert it isn't).
now let's talk about form. she breaks this "not sentence" into two lines. this enjambment is random and without thought. there is nothing interesting about separating this sentence other than for aesthetic purposes. nothing about the shape of this poem is interesting and nothing about it has meaning.
and finally, let's talk about intention. she uses "you" to appeal to a wider audience which suggests that this poem is more likely written to be relatable than to be sincere. is the "you" talking about a friend? a lover? a sibling? a friend/lover that's a sibling? (im just kidding) like come one. give us nothing. the ambiguity of "all" has a similar connotation. what is she overcoming? a cold? the death of a loved one? spilled milk? what is it? i shouldn't have to give meaning to the poem FOR HER. THIS IS HER POEM.

so if we're grading this out of 4 points, we'll give her a point for theme (because at least i know what she's talking about), no points for meter, no points for form, and certainly no points for intention.

this poem is a 1/4 or a 25%. congratulations rupi!

if this is the standard at which we are holding one of the most POPULAR poets of our generation because her poetry is accessible, easy to read, and relatable, then we are in a bit of trouble.

taking time to understand why the words are put in a certain order is what makes poetry so beautiful and if we can't even stop to sniff the roses sometime, what are we even doing? nothing in life is easy, and we are slowly diluting everything difficult into something that is meaningless. part of the beauty is in the time you put into understanding its message. rupi kaur is a perfect example of someone marketing off of our short attention spans and our need for instant gratification.

what i'm getting at here is not that a poet i dont like is extremely popular but rather we're letting people profit off of mediocrity while also losing the essence of what that thing really is. we're letting it become easy and accessible and "relatable" when part of the beauty is often what makes it different. it's not that rupi kaur is the problem but rather an example of the ongoing issue.

thank you for coming to my ted talk.