Learn How to Redefine the Scope of Millennial Poetry

Poetry is an indispensable element of our lives. Right from our childhood, we have been surrounded by nursery rhymes, poetry, jingles that share a fairytale or recite a story. Has the nuance of poetry been compromised with the new age digital media? Do you feel that the internet has changed how we perceive poetry today? Are we living in the new normal that transformed the scope of Millennial Poetry. Since poems have been part of our lives since ancient history, why not discuss about how we can redefine poetry in this 21st century.

As a passionate millennial poet, I can vouch that poetry has transformed beyond its nexus of being a set of beautifully penned words. Poetry has evolved to become part of lives in different forms. Whether or not you are a graduate in literature, the power of poetry attracts your attention swiftly.

You probably already know, but a good poem has these distinct features:

• Immediate hook
• the connotation (relatability)
• the analogy (reference)
• responsive feeling (joy, sadness, suspense)

In a way, if you are writer or a poet, you find yourself in a dilemma to attract an audience that barely reads through the information on screen. Poetry is a message driven medium of communication. How can you manage to convey your readers the same emotion you had while writing the poem?

Do you also juggle to find a common ground to give your poems its wings while aim to let them fly where you lead them to? It is possible, my friend.

Firstly, you are given an assurance by a poet herself. And secondly, rather than brooding over digital fiasco, make it your best buddy. Trust me, your audience is waiting to read your poems.

Getting into a growth mindset as a poet:

Ideally, it is expected to have a flair for language and emotions to write poems. I feel right articulation of words is worth a try to begin with. Writing poems is sharing your voice with your readers. A poem is a substitute to the empathy you bring into your verses. Use natural flow of words rather than jargons. Introduce your readers to the plot of the story by giving a good context.

As a matter of fact, a poem is highly creative form of content. Creativity works well on slow ignition. Absorb more, better the results.

For Introverts like me , poetry can bridge the gap what spoken words cannot. A free verse is a like a aerial bird flapping its wings to lead its on way.

3 Legend skills you must build as a poet :

1. Create Writer’s mindset– You are your own boss. With discipline and dedication, consistently write, create and envision different perception through words. A creative mindset doesn’t necessarily mean coming up with new idea. Create a rich piece of content using inspirations or play of words. A strong self awareness relaxes your mind to deliver the best of content. 

2. Practise Self Love– A very important element of life for your sanity. Practise self love daily. Creatively, writing poems feels overwhelming due to writer’s block, confusion on choice of words or rhymes that matches your idea. Self love allows you to give rest to your buzzing mind. When you are confident about the verses you write, you have won the battle. Your readers will notice the tone of your message and resonate with it. It becomes easier for you as a poet to engage into a conversation with them.

3. Being Thought leader-Normally you would identify yourself as a writer. But, poetry is beyond words. Poems have multidimensional elements of being cohesive yet universal in its message. Build a social understanding of what message you want to drive through your poems. Your USP will your gateway to getting into your reader’s mind.

Pay attention to your muse. Take her out for a walk. Let her breathe some fresh air. Celebrate your writing with the world. Don’t confine it to the pages of your diary. I encourage you to start a mission to be a poetic leader of the future.

Create a brand new ecosystem for your poetry:

How many of your friends and co-workers know you as a writer or poet? Hardly few! Get your verses out of our diary. A poet becomes one with the support of his/ her audience.

Poetry is a form of creative celebration of life and emotions. Celebrate it.

Give it what it deserves. Start building a creative eco-system for your poetry. Share your ideas, write and publish poetry online.Until then, every piece of verse and rhymes you ink on a page feels fabulous. Are you biased or judgemental about your work?

Hop onto some creative test. Refine your writing based on the feedback of critics and audience’s suggestions. Isn’t your aim to travel the world that speaks your poetic words? I would love you to!

What does Poetry offer you as medium of Art ?

It gives an unbiased platform of audience and critics.

You are undaunted with undivided attention and warmth of like- minded people around you.

You get to set the tone of your writings based on the group you are associating with Eg: Sharing poetry with a group that’s socially driven for causes like Autism.

Being part of a poetry groups, clubs helps your mould your personality.

Poetry is one of the few creative art forms that have universal global acceptance. With poetry, you can get a global footing with just reciting and sharing poetry.

Poetry is something that travels within you, only you need to take it to a desired destination.

How to better your craft by sharing poetry with others?

1.Hone your craft by interacting with your audience.

2.Build a dedicated page for poetry to promote your personal brand as a writer.

3. Look out for mentors who can provide their wisdom to improve your language or how you write a rhyme or sonnet.

4. Submission to online poetry competition, online e-magazines, poetry groups, clubs etc are building blocks to lifetime learning and community building resources.

5. Share lighter moments with your audience by writing few verses for them. Personalised poetry gives you edge to gauge reader’s reaction on a 1-1 basis.

6. Become a guest blogger and publish your poems on poetry websites. Craft a expertise in your field of writing styles like haikus, rhymes, free verse etc.

7. Stay true to yourself. Just a like mirror, your poetic verses are an image of your thoughts.

“But Elvira, I have poetry blog, poetry club/ page and still  find it hard to attract and lead my audience to read my poems. The regular ones who comment  are poet writer themselves”. Is this a scene out of your life story?

Well my creative buddy, think beyond the conventional path of writing and sharing poetry.

How Poetry can be repurposed to create multiple content:

Here’s the most exciting segment of the article, it’s content creation. If you have read till here, I understand your purpose is to leverage your position of being a poet. Why not! Writing poetry is one aspect but writing a poem to create a multipurpose value is the new legendary way to march forward.

Sharing some illustrative tips and tricks on how you can repurpose your poem and make it go Wow!

1. Festive Occassions & Events:

Write poems that sets the tone for niche based audience. You can recite poems on different occasions, festivals, events etc. Go for poetry contests ,poetry recitals, poetry club. Repurpose your poems that add elements of humour, celebrations to suit the ambience of your crowd. Rather than writing a bunch of poems, few  good poems can be recited again and again on different events and occasions. Eg: Gratitude poem posts or cards with name tagged gives a sense of acknowledgment.

2. Social medial channels:

Are you Instagram born poet? You must have heard this phrase a lot. True, the reach of social media has made it possible to share your work to a wider range of people around the world. Repurpose your content that fits the platform based on how your audience consumes it. We have different forms of poetry on facebook groups- long form & short form poetry, creative writing, prose and poetry workshops on Youtube, capsule poems on pinterest, 2-3 lines poetry or haiku on Twitter and Picture poems on Instagram.

Poems give a clear picture to our lives in our own little way, the pain, happiness and guilt; all feelings suppressed unknown is channelized through words

3. Poetry Formats:

Writing poetry doesn’t mean writing serious stuff all the time. Once a while, choose a quick humorous  banter of a limerick. Create a long poem to convey a social message to grab people’s attention and support the cause. Using the different forms of poems opens up new opportunities as a poet.

Eg: A unique stanza that is becomes your cult theme. If you are a romantic at heart, ink some romantic poems, shayari recitals like urdu shayaris are your best bet. Explore open mic poetry that’s tests your spontaneity and engages listener’s curiosity. Though I am not in favour of Slam poetry, you can try various formats of poems to get its best value.

4. Storytelling :

What’s your ideal way of writing a simple poem. Is it based on a fact, emotion or experience? There are multiple ways how you can style your words. One such way is tweaking the types or genre of the poems. A narrative poem can be good form of storytelling to your listeners . Refine it to a lyrical form and now you can use it to teach poems for kids in a sing and song manner in classrooms.

5. Creativity:

Giving a poem a complete makeover is a pleasant achievement for a poet. And what’s best than increasing its lifetime value in form of gifts. Poetry books, poems as souvenirs and memoirs form a vital relationship. Add a dash of creativity and repurpose your poems to reach hearts in cute forms of gestures. Get creative and think of how you can repurpose your poem into a physical form. For instance, we have tons of poetry Ballad songs on the internet that infuses music into verses. Instagram personal branding vignette ( writing text on paper and clicking it on a aesthetic background).

Combining art with words is breathing life into a soul.

6. Entertainment:

Poems have the attribute to strike a bond instantly. When it bundled with entertainment, the essence of poetry reaches a thousand notches higher. Poetry exclusively written for a person, poetry written for entertainment like impromptu poetry rants helps to break the ice with listeners. Live recitals gives you a public platform and applause that your personal diary cannot.

7. Digital product:

Since you’ve read this on a digital platform, you are encouraged to try digital poetry and marketing. Write blogs, create online workshops to teach how to write poetry etc which have seen a huge demand in recent years. You can grow your poetry genesis by creating videos modules for kids like storytime ,rhymes, verses on grandeur scale on Youtube. Repurpose your poems into audio visuals format by launching Online Book Store, Poetry Podcast channel and poetry reading virtually in your community.

Observe how your muse can mould herself into only text to digital format. A voice to things we want the world to know, often ourselves to know.

8. Multilingual poems:

Language is an organic magnet to attract listener’s attention. While the preferred medium is English, the purity and beauty of regional languages, cultures are hard to ignore. English poems do well because it is a widely spoken language.

But statistics show that multilingual poems relatively share lot more vibes, responses and word of mouth publicity. So, what stops you from exploring it? Take the mantle and hop into the wagon. If you are good at language translation, you can reach a wider audience with poems with people consuming regional content at a faster pace.  

I remember my first Marathi poem got me so many positive reviews that encouraged me to write Hindi and Konkani poetry as well.

Why we as the world needs poetry:

1. Kickstarts a conversation: A poem is gives a instant kickstart to a conversation. You are intrigued to know the thought behind the rhymes, what made the poet feel and why he/she wrote the verse a certain way.

2. Learn new point of views: Poets today have become more socially aware of their skill. Thus, you may find a lot of poems that speak about social issues, the causes they believe and mindset of people around them. Since poems are reflection and part of society, it gives a glimpse to the changing world around you.

3.Gain global perspective:  If the world has to become a better place, your ink is the first pedestal to the dream. Your ink connects beyond boundaries. You get to share your voice with the world, many times a true spokesperson for new global events that concern an individual Eg Mental Health, Global Warming, Inflation, Unemployment etc.

4.Unifies cultures and languages– Words have deeper meaning in people’s mind. It is something we have been surrounded with since birth. Poetry verses unify cultures and languages. You relate to the message of the poet even though you may not fully understand the dialect or be aware of the culture. Writing poetry gives you a recognition and power. Use it to spell out how you want the future poetry world to be ?

5. Supports creativity: Poetry gives you a chance to pivot your goals and unleash your true potential .You could become a creative master in the field of copywriting, creative writing that needs creative expertise. Potential careers like Brand managers, Advertisers, Teachers, Writers and so on in the field of poetry can boost talent resources.

6. Good communicator and support system– Whether you are writer or reader, you must agree that words have the power to connect with others on a deeper level. Poems in a special way have an ability to share a voice that marches ahead from just a leaf of a page. It becomes you go to listener, comforter on a bad day.

While the world is going into a mobile screen world, poems are your lone companions who will not abandon you.

Conclusion:

From being a poet to digital creator, poetry offers you to explore different genres to share your skills. While written poetry is not yet forgotten, repurposing and virtual poems have redefined its purpose from calling it just another art form. As a budding content creator, let your poetry wings take you to places and people. Create content that unleashes the power of millennial poetry and let the world know that creativity exists beyond just words.

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Copyright©2021- 1st April by Elvira Lobo Pinto (All rights reserved; unauthorized use prohibited) Disclaimer: The image(s) in the post are taken from Unsplash or as source mentioned. I don’t claim any of its rights.