Poetry and Social Media

Oh how the times have changed! Books seem to have lost the overwhelming popularity they once had…. not to mention magazines and newspapers. The library was once a magical place! Yet many of the younger generation asks… who needs a library when you have social media?! 

Social media is not as much of a literary enemy as old school writers may think… especially in the world of poetry. It seems poetry is on a bit of an upswing lately on platforms familiar to many as Tic Toc, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to name a few of the biggies.

According to a recent article in Forbes, the #poetry hashtag has more than 48 billion views on Tic Toc. This sensitive app has managed to bring a lot of attention to a number of authors through spoken word poetry. The possibilities of creating videos with a large variety of editing tools makes it a fun place to share work and possibly gain noteritey. 

However, notoriety and fame do not necessarily equate to selling poetry books. Tic Toc is good for writing communities though, especially “BookToc”, a growing crowd of book lovers that talk about nothing but books, primarily fiction related works.

Instagram has been a marvel for poets like Rupi Kaur and Morgan Harper Nichols. Their short form poetry, known for its confessional clean stylings, has brought them millions of followers. This form of poetry has been termed “Instapoetry”, and has garnered a controversial reputation of not being poetry due to its succinct structuring and fast pace. Yet, it seems social media is changing those rules. Kaur has more than 4 million Instagram followers, and has sold over 11 million copies of her books, which have been translated into 43 languages.

Jen Benka, the President and Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets, has stated “So many of the critiques of poetry on social media are about how poetry shouldn’t be performative, or how social media has made poetry too simple”. Is it poetry? Like all art, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

A downturn writers experience on these apps  continues to be simple plagiarism. Poems taken from some authors, then posted to names with a broader appeal and following base, leave the original poets out in the cold. Social media can indeed be what a close colleague once cleverly referred to as “a dark art”. 

Facebook has a blanket presence with a plethora of groups to choose from that all have their own personalities and purposes. I am of course, smitten with Invisible Poets and Wheelsong Poetry. This is not only because of the Wheelsong mission statement of promoting unknown talent. It is really about it’s first priority of giving back with charitable donations, such as the ongoing Wheelsong Anthology series. That incredible direction matches my personal writing motivations and then some!

As a rule of thumb. being active in social media requires a lot of posting, commenting, and interaction. I’ve also noticed that a touch of personal charisma becomes one’s individual brand. It also helps to promote attention by always maintaining a professional posture and positive attitude.

Social media is here to stay, and poets of every age and variety have to accept it. Learning which platforms are best for you for what you are trying to achieve is only possible by engaging in the activity and determining if a group or particular app is right for you.

Matt Elmore

Resources:

https://www.insidehook.com/article/internet/social-media-poetry

https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/03/01/bite-sized-tiktok-poetry-blows-up-along-with-growing-claims-of-plagiarism/?sh=5df4cb7c6873

https://gooduniversenextdoor.com/2023/01/19/poetry-on-tiktok/

https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/should-writers-use-social-media

Image from: Unsplash

Poetic Devices 11: Metonymy

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! 

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 

The evil that men do lives after them. 

The good is oft interred with their bones.

So goes the famous soliloquy speech of Marc Anthony in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Notice that Shakespeare uses the phrase 'lend me your ears' to indicate demanding attention. The word 'ears' is used as a substitute for the act of listening. In poetic and literature terms, this is known as metonymy - using a single word to indicate a larger idea or context. Metonymy is quite simply a concept or idea that is referred to by a word that is closely related to it. It's a stand-in or substitute word for a much larger idea. 

Metonyms occur more frequently in every day speech and conversation than we realise. And thus, they also appear in poetry and literature a lot. The actor Marlon Brando once said 'Most of the successful people in Hollywood are failures as human beings.' He was of course using Hollywood to refer to the entire movie making industry, including actors, directors, writers and so on. 

Musicians Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney once sang a wonderful refrain in a song they performed:

Ebony and ivory 

Live together in perfect harmony 

Side by side on my piano keyboard 

Oh lord, why don’t we?

Ebony is a metonym that refers to black culture and people from Afro-Carribbean origin, while ivory refers to white culture and Caucasian heritage people. The piano-keyboard is a metaphor that reflects life in general and in this case is a political statement. What they are really asking is why can't black and white people live peacefully and respectfully together? Why does there have to be such hatred? It's a colourful, poetic way of referring to racial tension in a community without overtly stating the problem. The fact that the two musicians were from two different ethic cultures spoke volumes, but the lyrics were even more powerful. 

Examples in poetry are many. Just remember that a single word can have as much power as an entire phrase in poetry. You might for example describe someone who is bleeding to death, as 'the life slowly drained out of him. The metonym used is 'life.' You might refer to the entire presidential administration of the United States of America as the 'White House' or 'Washington', or the Royal Family and household of the United Kingdom as the 'Crown'. Using a change of word to denote something larger, can change the perception of the reader or the tone of the poem, and make it even more memorable. 

Steve Wheeler

Previous posts in this series

1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Repetition and refrains
4. Alliteration
5. Assonance
6. End Rhymes
7. Internal Rhymes
8. Rhythm and Tempo
9. Enjambment

10. Allegory

Image from Blue Diamond Gallery used via Creative Commons Licensing

Making Sense Of Sounds: Onomatopoeia

 

Tweet tweet tweet!!!

Whoosh… Whoosh…

Ka-boom!!!! Ka-boom!!!

There is a whimsicality about certain sounds in the natural world… the songs of birds or even monkeys playing. Some sounds possess a calm feeling, such as the booshy whoosh of a restless sea against the cliffs. Some are not so peaceful… such as a volcano erupting, fireworks, or animals fighting.They all invoke emotions…. playful, serene, fearful…

These sounds may be incorporated into poetry through onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia  is simply an obnoxiously long (and weird to spell term!) referring to using action words in a sentence that sound exactly like what they say… essentially “word sounds”… words like POW, BANG, and CRASH!!!  

Onomatopoeia is a favorite device used in children’s poetry since it engages a child’s imagination. It works for adults as well!! Take this fun poem by Jaymie Gerard called Piddle-Paddle for example… it is most effective in its simplicity… the suggestions of the sounds facilitating particular actions:

“Piddle paddle, piddle paddle,

splash, splash, splash,

into the pool with a great big dash!

“Piddle paddle…” implies friends playing about, “splash splash….” making a commotion in the water… and finally “Into the pool with a great big dash”… suggesting a running cannonball!

Another example could include “The Fourth” by Shel Silverstein. Although Silverstein also wrote children’s poems, his work always had depth and used many poetic tools. Here, explosions of fireworks accentuate the action between the lines of this poem… as if a conversation were being interrupted during each cannonade…

“Oh

CRASH!

my

BASH!

it’s

BANG!

the

ZANG!

Fourth

 WHOOSH!

of 

BAROOM!

July

WHEW!”

Another form of onomatopoeia is known as phanopoeia, which is a sort of blanket perception based on sounds within the words themselves. D.H. Lawrence does this in a poem entitled “Snake”, where he used constant alliterations with the s consonant to simulate a hiss… suggesting a snake.

Onomatopoeia is such an engaging device! It really can incorporate different dimensions within poetry due to its sensory invocations, prompting readers’ imaginations based on sounds rather than imagery or cognitive suggestion alone! 

The very idea of a noise near you should instantly make your mind say, “What was that?!” Poof!!

Matt Elmore

Poetry against Poverty

Just over a year ago, in August 2022, Wheelsong Books was planning the launch of a new initiative in partnership with the global charity Save the Children. A collaboration between the publishing company and 90 poets from around the world would yield Wheelsong Poetry Anthology - a collection of 183 original, unpublished poems. The book is still selling steadily, one year on from its September 2022 release. A second collection - Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 2 - followed in April 2023, with a larger contingent of 105 poets contributing 214 poems. Again, this book has been steadily selling copies to raise much needed funds for life-saving intervention in crisis zones across the globe. 

It's not an easy feat to conduct such a large contingent of diverse individuals, but the editorial teams have played their parts in mustering these books together. Wheelsong's third anthology is published this week. It is larger than its older siblings, with more than 220 poems from 120 poets. Again, our fervent wish is that the poetry community will get behind this initiative and purchase this book in very large numbers. At the time of writing, Wheelsong has already sent £1500.00 (approximately $1870.00) to Save the Children from book sales.

Every book sold (whether in Kindle, softcover or hardcover) will raise about £3.00 (almost $4.00) for Save the Children. According to the charity's website, one book sale can purchase 25 water purification tablets, 18 food paste sachets, 2 sterile midwife birthing kits, or 1 child hygiene kit. All of these are vital to maintain health security in areas where there is conflict or natural disaster. By buying a Wheelsong Poetry anthology, you are literally helping to save a small life somewhere in the world. 

You can read in Matt Elmore's recent post exactly what Save the Children does across the world, but here's a link that demonstrates their financial commitment to providing nutrition, healthcare, safety, shelter and education to needy children everywhere. Finally, here is a link providing you with numerous stories of how children have been helped from the funds Wheelsong and other organisations have raised throughout the last few years. 

We really hope you will get behind this initiative and purchase copies of one, two or all three anthologies, to keep and cherish, give away as gifts, donate to libraries or generally circulate across your community. We can use poetry against poverty! Thank you.

Steve Wheeler

Image © Wheelsong Books 2023

Charity And Poetry

As we approach the introduction of the brand new  Wheelsong Anthology Three next week, an article considering the scope of what Wheelsong does is in order. 

Wheelsong Books was formed by Steve Wheeler, and is currently dedicated to funding Save The Children through the total profits of an ongoing poetry series. This series contains many stellar works of a number of both established and little known poets, all of which demonstrate exemplary work in their craft.

There are so many charitable organizations out there, and causes as well.  Some charitable causes include issues related to addiction, race, the blind, cancer, child protection, civil rights, consumer rights, environmental, and health. Also included would be those dealing with housing, human rights, human services, hunger, international relief, LGBTQ+, education, mental health, and police. Let’s not forget reproductive health, terminally ill, women’s advocacy, and youth charities!

The mission statement of Wheelsong is to contribute not only to the discovery and development of poetic talent, but also to doing our part within a global community to make a difference. This article is only a peek into a vast window of opportunities to positively influence so many lives in so many ways… whether through direct donations or by being the voice of a movement.

As an author within the Wheelsong roster… my main motivation is to making this difference. By contributing and buying the Wheelsong anthologies, whether it is one for myself, or as Christmas gifts for my loved ones, I know that all the profits are going straight to children that need the resources. Resources I have and am willing to share! 

This word from Steve Wheeler today…

                                          —

“Hi @everyone 

£3.00 can feed a malnourished child for a month. £3.00 can buy two sterile birthing kits. £3.00 can go a very long way in an area of deprivation or disaster. And guess what? £3.00 is the profit gained from every Wheelsong Poetry Anthology sold on Amazon. 

Wheelsong Books has so far donated £1500.00 to Save the Children from book sales. We would love to send more. If every member of Invisible Poets bought one copy, we could send another £22,000 to help kids in crisis!

This book is published on 19th September. Will you buy into the Wheelsong vision? Poetry against poverty!”

                                           —

For those who live in fields of plenty… a little can mean a lot… to those who have such a small amount of anything. 

Please consider buying a Wheelsong Anthology and keep hope alive for impoverished children around the world.

Matt Elmore

Resources:

Top Rated Charities— 

www.charity watch.com

Types Of Giving: The ABCs Of Donations—            

www.copecorrales.com

Image provided by: Unsplash

Beyond Poetry - Wheelsong Anthology 3

 

The emphasis of the mission statement of Wheelsong Books is not solely about poetry. It is really about poverty.

Wheelsong is coming out next week with a brand new Anthology Three in a series of absolutely new poems to knock the socks off the poetry world! However, the purpose of these books is not  to demonstrate the immense talent that makes up the roster of the Wheelsong poets. It is about children in need. 

ALL of the proceeds to Wheelsong Anthology Three are going to Save The Children, an international organization and movement designed for the sole purpose of helping impoverished children around the entire world. 

In 2021 alone, Save The Children supported 183 million children, distributing 22.8 million meals to children living in poverty in America alone… helped 12 million children access quality education – including more than 6.2 million girls… improved the nutrition of 3.2 million mothers and 10.1 million children… responded to 103 emergencies in more than 80 countries.

It employs vastly effective health, education, and protection programs, in addition to emergency response.

Just this morning Steve Wheeler listed this statement for the Invisible Poets Group on Facebook. “I just sent in another £375 donation to Save the Children from the sales of Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies. We are making a difference. Wheelsong Poetry Anthology Books 1 and 2 are still available for purchase on Amazon and Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 3 will be published next week! Thank you to all who are supporting this amazing effort to bring aid to children in crisis around the world!”

By purchasing Wheelsong Anthology III next week with a reasonable contribution, you can make a difference in a child’s life in so many ways… and also receive a FANTASTIC  book of the most professional quality selected poems.

Wheelsong publisher Steve Wheeler also had this to say of the ongoing Anthology series….

“Money is a terrible master but a great servant. Some of the money we recently sent went to purchase food paste sachets for malnourished children. Some went to fund a camel library to reach unschooled children in Ethiopia. Some went to support orphaned children in Ukraine. Purchase a copy of one of the Anthologies and you'll be helping.”

Please consider this today. The Wheelsong Anthologies are all available on Amazon. Buy one or all three!!!

Children really are suffering now. This is a wonderful way to support them and receive an incredible gift of beyond beautiful poetry in the process…

Matt Elmore

Image By: Save The Children Foundation