Milk & Honey Is... Not That Great.

[@theuglybookling4604]

Rachel pouring Monster into a wine glass while critiquing poetry is a mood

[@BabvBlues]

omgggg

[@themtouchinmykokoro2869]

You could say it’s an energy

[@ziyle5238]

It a vibe

[@youngtonydanza]

it's an extremely powerful image

[@Dutch_bastard_23]

Unhealthy* Unthoughtful*

[@Hoebafett]

Adultolescence: I’m so sad and wish I was dead, link in bio Milk and honey: men suck at finger banging

[@RachelOates]

Omg 😂😂😂😂

[@moonaa4495]

IF it encourages you to start writing again since childhood and pick up and be inspired and do something even better then it can only be good she is inspiring If you have a view even better

[@fainaiasen9795]

Most of them do though ahaahaha

[@_TSC_46]

@@fainaiasen9795 thats the fucking tea sis

[@moonevergreen6077]

Isn't it about surviving r*pe?

[@korryn5304]

the casual pouring of a monster into a wine glass, i’m dead 😂

[@narpinarpa]

a monster in a wine glass is still a monster - rupi kaur

[@korryn5304]

woah, s-tier poetry for sure! so full of metaphors and double meanings... beautiful

[@annakeat5618]

Nina this comment is spot on 😂😂

[@leya7010]

I THOUGHT THAT WAS A QUOTE FROM THE BOOK 😂😂

[@PixiePrinses]

@@narpinarpa OMG that's actually kinda good haha

[@olivecianciolo3017]

it's just very basic and I'd like a little more y'know? -rachel oates

[@brilliantbookworm8407]

Disliked ur comment by accident my bad

[@kimbird7933]

I would buy merch with this written on it.

[@moonaa4495]

IF it encourages you to start writing again since childhood and pick up and be inspired and do something even better then it can only be good she is inspiring If you have a view even better

[@clairlinfoot2945]

This is what gabbie hannah tried to copy, because she saw it sold so well

[@SP.Addams]

THE TEA. Also she’s perpetually stuck at age 14 so....

[@ihatemickiegee]

she should’ve used the same publisher, all of these “poets” do then again she got lucky & was instead published by simon & schuster, bht they publish lots of public figures so it’s not like they made an artistic choice lol

[@winkie3331]

tana too lol

[@ziyle5238]

Lol

[@dhritisingh4808]

the book was called "milk and honey" but i was a vegan.

[@vvnzihan]

UNDERRATED OMG

[@judevictor7240]

This is great. Smarter than a whole book

[@saltiestsiren]

sobbing, how relatable

[@fajarzakri4936]

Well, vegan milks and honey exist...

[@sromonasengupta9-c512]

I Was milk and honey But you Were lactose intolerant

[@annaliesecampbell8740]

I read Milk and Honey closer to when it came out when it was super popular, during my "I'm 16 years old and everything is poetic and edgy" phase and even then I thought it was poorly written. I had much higher expectations of it because of its popularity.

[@aliciamariko7355]

Yess one of my friends lent it to me being like it’s our age’s feminism and even as a ripe high schooler I was about to slap her for such an insult

[@ruchikadayal9469]

same. A friend gave it to me, I was 16 (in 2017). I read one page, then gave it back. I just couldn't get into it and considering at that time I read even the worst of books till the end becuz I kept hoping it'll get better. it was a big thing for me and i learned at that time that i didn't have to be forced to read every goddamn book that touches my hand.

[@yuria_nihilisten]

If something is popular then it's usually safer to have low expectations.

[@christyconklin4548]

Same here. I read it in a few days, annotated and highlighted it, realized how much time I wasted, and hid it in the back of my bookshelf

[@lasolady]

same i bought it, and read through it and was just like "wow, i really spend 8 bucks on this?"

[@Daisyjackson17]

“And the scorpion was like nah mate.” - Rachel Oates May/2020

[@eisenstan]

Rachel doing a drunk girl impression is something we never knew we wanted, but always needed

[@Amazing_Mark]

😅

[@soyevquirsefron990]

Oh I'm definitely watching that part again

[@Juli-sh7qu]

„Shots anyone???“

[@joannamarierogue]

Totally agree! :D

[@RickReasonnz]

Maybe there was vodka in her Monster?

[@rebecca8836]

A girl I knew a few years ago was obsessed with Rupi Kaur’s poetry. She wore converse to prom. 👞 💐

[@shivamshrivastav9373]

Well, the prom incident explains it

[@museruse1]

This is under appreciated genius! Especially with the emojis (illustrations) at the end!

[@plobclop]

Who says I can't wear my con-

[@ballerinaonamusicbox]

no one is stopping me from wearing converse to prom. i cannot walk in heels 😭

[@Wallish-q3n]

Totally

[@IchiEyes]

A lot of them feel like, "I'm 14 and this is deep." I don't want to be so cynical about it and the author, but it feels like a half-assed attempt to appear intellectual that, for whatever reason, really caught on. I'm happy it's affected so many people in a positive way, it just strikes me as very very hollow, like it wants to say something but doesn't have the understanding to make a statement.

[@Germanyduck]

I think it caught on because most people want to feel intellectual and artistic without actually puting the effort into it. Art is hard, to make and to appreciate. This type of pieces are perfect for people that want it easy, they're so simple to understand and put apart.

[@Hoebafett]

I agree, anytime I try to sit and write it always feels so cliche now to write about how I’m just too deep for you and misunderstood. Spoiler alert, everyone feels that way. So now the emotional I want to die poetry is just another cheap writing cliche that’s almost never done well anymore

[@esreverTA]

I think that happened because the "poems" are easy to read, easy to understand, and the themes are important, deep, or so hollow that everyone can relate. I just don't agree with the "14 yo poetry" because a lot of "poems" like these comes from/are consumed by older woman too. I could easily give a few of these books here where I live (a lot of people doesn't have an average education and backgroud to read and interpret great, perfect poems) and a lot of mothers would love it.

[@kyoka1528]

I'm not gonna lie its not right to compare fourteen year old poetry to "half asses poetry. 1. If you're a teenager, your still finding your style and who you are as a person. 2. There are actually talented teens who have potential to write and form mature ideas. Maturity comes in age with some things but, most maturity that you gain comes from personal experience. You don't look at someone's age and know exactly how their mind works or what they've been through. We learn and experience things at different places.

[@glitter_bombed]

I had a friend who was really into Rupi Kaur, she wasn’t stupid but she thought she was way smarter than she was. Like, flexing about “discussing quantum physics over breakfast” with her boyfriend (which did NOT happen, you cannot convince me that doofus even knows what quantum physics is), goofy shit like that. This book made me feel like I was eating air, there was no real substance. So it makes sense to me that this ex-friend was all about it. Don’t get me wrong, people can like whatever, and if they get something out of it then fine. But personally I’m not a fan of this pseudo-intellectual fake-deep lazy horseshit. It’s not poetry, it’s not even interesting, they’re no-effort Facebook statuses written like a moody 14-year-old who thinks they’re the smartest person on earth.

[@mochafrappawhat]

A sentence Broken into Fragments Isn't poetry - a wannabe poem

[@hulloitsme3842]

THANK YOU

[@nejdalej]

How dare You I Feel attacked -Another poet

[@ellara1760]

depends

[@ma_r1o24]

i would feel offended but i know better -A third poet

[@paolahf]

How dare You doubt The power Within words - A fourth poet This is a joke. ತ_ʖತ

[@PogieJoe]

I think of Rupi Kaur as a bit of a gateway poet. Yeah, by our standards she's a bit trite, but she's lead so many young readers to explore her medium in the same way that some mediocre YA fiction, over-popular Broadway show, or a well-done mainstream movie can. And for that, I thank her.

[@storageheater]

I love the phrase "a rising tide lifts all boats", which always seems very easy to apply to "low culture" but when applied to "high culture" people start getting worried, I can feel it nudge against my own prejudices and it's fascinating

[@mirandachen8189]

i read milk and honey at the height of its popularity and it definitely inspired my interest in poetry. i don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying the book at face value but i personally wish other people realized that there's more and, frankly, better-written poetry out there. for example, crush by richard siken. it's frustrating to me when most people's only impression of the poetry genre is rupi kaur, and the kind of "tumblr poetry" sub-genre, rather than the dense expanse of experienced poets out there.

[@karmapolice3335]

true man she is like twilight series

[@ziyle5238]

I agree souch with this

[@mea2429]

@@mirandachen8189 yeah, i honestly feel like poetry like this is the reason I thought I hated poetry as a kid up until very recently. fake-deep shit is my biggest pet peeve and has turned me off of poetry since I was like. 12. because most of my exposure to poetry was of, apparently, bad poetry.

[@aquinn982]

i was looking like a snack but you were on a diet. -rupi kaur

[@kiwifit620]

So deep 🥺😔

[@bheenibaunthiyal1570]

Poetic

[@VisitTheCosmiko]

is this actually one of the poems? like, were these words put on a page to sell? and not someone typing in notes while waiting for their postmate to drop off their crab rangoons

[@saffy771]

I think I'm gonna cry

[@miacornell5078]

aHHHAHAHAA

[@RoastedSaltedPeanut]

Kyra taking a nap on the sofa is the wholesome content I need in my life right now

[@emily3]

My actual face when Kyra jumps up onto the couch for a snooze: 😀

[@BlackCrystalAlchemis]

her lil plop in the beginning of the video 🥺

[@ronan2319]

Although I definitely agree it's not the best quality writing, I actually found a lot of what she writes about really helped me process my own feelings after getting out of an abusive relationship. It inspired me to write some very bad poems of my own and it was extremely cathartic. I think if I hadn't been approaching the book in that state of mind, I wouldn't have got as much out of it.

[@girlwhomustnotbenamed4139]

This is so important. I had a similar experience with "The princess saves herself in this one" and the rest of that series, I just bawled my eyes out reading them and they were incredibly important for me emotionally. I can see some people in the comments trashing them and I don't really know anything about technique but these books still articulated so much I could identify with they just shook me to my core. There are so many things that still need to be expressed even if it's in a simple line of prose (or not even prose just a plain old article) that I can't really care when someone puts line breaks in and calls it poetry. If it's powerful, it's powerful. I really appreciate Rachel acknowledging that poetry is subjective. Help can come in any form when you're struggling.

[@amandaisnotwriting]

this is what I mean by we can't go around saying some form of literature/poetry is bad. As long as it ressonates with people. It definitely impacted me when I first read it. I would probably react to it very differently now with more maturity. Ofc I understand her review and her critique, what I don't like is everyone laughing about how dumb her poetry is.... Cause it means something to some people.

[@SP.Addams]

Pandamanda I agree, bad is subjective to a point. But intention should always be a factor. Comparing oranges to apples is important.

[@xNujeL]

Same! It kickstarted my personal writing poetry journey, too.

[@biancasilva8172]

I completely agree. It was extremely hard for me not to judge less intellectual and complex forms of art, but I've come to realize art is not only about rhymes and structures and techniques, but mostly about feelings. Art is the most beautiful way we humans have of expressing ourselves and to do that we only need feelings. If we put our true feelings into something and it reaches someone else, can you really say that this isn't art? I think the complex form of poetry is beautiful, amazing and astonishing, but it doesn't mean that the more simple and direct one isn't important. The simpler form can communicate with everyone, you don't need to be an intellectual to understand and enjoy it. And the feelings and experiences Rupi put on her book are all true and extremely raw. What I liked about her book was not her smart writing or complex metaphors and rhymes, but the rawness of a woman who's been beaten up by life and still found the guts to put all of that into words for the world to see. People in the comments are saying what she writes is dramatic like a 14 years old, and that's extremely disrespectful when she is a child's abuse and rape survivor who is just trying to share her experience and maybe reach out to someone else in a similar situation. People forget she's not just chosing subjects randomly and writing about them, for us is a topic in a book, for her it's her life, it's what happened to her.

[@ka4545]

I hated Milk and Honey, but her other poetry collection The Sun and Her Flowers was much better. Not the best necessarily, but better than Milk and Honey.

[@noelle7378]

Do you know any actually good poetry?

[@basil116]

@@noelle7378 just because it was better doesn't mean it was good

[@domagario6910]

Noelle you should check out ibn arabi alone with the alone

[@domagario6910]

Noelle my favorite is Rumi here is his quotes Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about. Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion. Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form. The wound is the place where the Light enters you. Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself. Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along. Only from the heart can you touch the sky. Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

[@noelle7378]

@@domagario6910 thx!

[@meganclark2631]

The problem with Rupi Kaur is that she made "poetry" accessible but its not poetry. People who don't read truly gorgeous and thoughtful and meaningful poetry think that this book is what poetry is. Like some of these "poems" aren't even sentences??? Its lazy. Like you said, there is some incredible talent out there and its almost not fair that something like Milk & Honey gets so much publicity where the rest of us are trying to get noticed

[@ultimateawseome]

Translation: "rupi Kaur doesn't write real poetry. Only those of us REAL poets know this. We should be famous, not her." Stop it. Poetry isnt some complex cryptic language. Good poetry can be understood by most people. There's a reason she has sold millions whereas nobody knows your name, on the other hand. You may not not like her work, but you have no authority to say it's not poetry.

[@meganclark2631]

@@ultimateawseome I'm so sorry that you took my comment this way. I don't care to be famous, not by a long shot. Seeing as my degree is in poetry and specifically composition of poetry, I felt like I had something to add to this conversation. Im not claiming to have any kind of authority in this realm, but rather that there are poets out there who better utilize figurative language. Have a great day!

[@highsun76]

Do you have any good books of poems to recommend? I want to pick it up!

[@Jaxipad]

@@ultimateawseome Whenever anybody tries to say her poetry is bad, everyone jumps in and says "Poetry can be whatever you want it to be." Which I guess is true. You never can find an exact definition. But its pretty obvious good poetry should make you think. At least a little bit. Do *something*. Poetry should have rhythm, meter, rhyme. If it doesnt have that, it should have figurative language. Rupi Kaur doesn't use any of those majority of the time. She also regularly rephrases famous sayings. For example, in Milk and Honey she says “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you” “You must want to spend the rest of your life with yourself first” “I am learning how to love him by loving myself” which is just "love yourself before loving someone else" said differently (about a million more times too). and then she just has a bunch of statements with no figurative language, randomly placed spaces, and no meter or rhyme or anything. shes just saying things. spaces shouldnt just be there to look pretty. every space should be intentional in poetry. “Nothing is safer than the sound of you reading out loud to me” “On days like this I need you to run your fingers through my hair and speak softly” “Your voice alone drives me to tears” “Do not bother holding onto that thing that does not want you” “There is a difference between someone telling you they love you and them actually loving you” “Hair if it was not supposed to be there would not be growing on our bodies in the first place” NAW REALLYY? “Removing all of the hair off your body is okay if that’s what you want to do just as much as keeping all of the hair on your body is okay if that’s what you want to do.” Am I missing something? Was this a super moving statement to say in 2014? She doesn't put thought into her poems.

[@Meand1209]

@@ultimateawseomeThere is a difference between quotes and poems. It’s sad if people are able to only understand something so simple and straightforward. How do they even function if they’re not able to think and analyze?

[@kkin4438]

The problem with poetry is that unless it is Instagrammable faux-deep clichéd verse, it won't reach a mainstream audience. There are TONS of hard-working poets out there publishing in journals and writing collections, but you kind of don't know they exist unless it has some viral quality or a celebrity recommends it. Case in point, Jericho Brown just won a Pulitzer, but even most people who read a ton wouldn't be able to tell you anything about him or have read his poetry. I know bad youtuber books and this kind of mainstream poetry gets views, but if you'd like to read better quality stuff (yes... I know this is all subjective), go spend some time on Poetry Foundation or reading poetry journals to see some of the great work people are writing today.

[@Yuja8319]

Omg I LIVE on the poetry foundation website

[@gabrielle3960]

I love this hot take. A guy I had started dating gave me this book because he thought it was so deep and that it reminded him of me and it basically was a perfect warning flag for how much he actually saw the person I really was.

[@justlottie]

Ohh wow

[@valvihk3649]

Wow that's messed up

[@ltyarv8071]

Hold up, you don't reveal yourself much on dating? Messed

[@CH-jj8wk]

She feels like a poet who get published before she'd really honed her craft. Like there's potential, but she's been too hyped up to want to improve now.

[@justinedse8435]

@CH-jj8wk That's the main problem. If you sent these poems out to actual literary magazines for submissions, they would laugh at you!

[@313eve]

"As vague as possible to appeal to as many people as possible" - like horoscopes.

[@xtonibx5770]

You obviously don't have to care about astrology but you probably don't understand horoscopes if you don't understand why they aren't/can't/shouldn't be specific. "cancers will find a $20 on the ground sometime this month oOOo"

[@313eve]

@@xtonibx5770 lol I do understand, that was literally my point.

[@ashleighdillon4839]

actual horoscopes are more specific than mainstream horoscopes lol

[@neilagangitlog]

oof

[@emiliarodmir]

yeah and in my experience it is really appealing to the same people that is really into astrology

[@thjalfi4606]

"Mixed opinions" has never once meant mostly positive ones

[@sofiamchugh2451]

"the poet cared more about making something which looks like poetry on the page" i've been SEARCHING for a way to describe my problem with milk&honey this succinctly thank you

[@adenineful]

She was a poem But he couldn't read

[@mwst2095]

The sad thing is I could 100% see this poem being in one of these books

[@victoriaosawaru6121]

Jared,19

[@noriakikakyoin8587]

Her ass was a poem That didn't rhyme Take that as you will

[@vrutagupte7430]

This literally made me go, "Bruh." XD hey did you guys know there was this twitter account that made parodies of these kinds of poems? It was absolutely hilarious, should probably search for it now that I finally have free time in lockdown.

[@shivangimuir8905]

His name was Jared He's 19

[@Bianca_Toeps]

Damn, most of these poems sound like they were made to be posted on Instagram by an angry girl, pretending it to be general wisdom but obviously hoping her ex sees it.

[@madelinebitts2766]

She got popular on instagram and tumblr. Tbh it wasn't even because her poetry was good, it was because it fit certain aesthetics. An edgy aesthetic blog would reblog her poems with edgy themes. RP blogs would reblog her vaguely romantic ones... It was more that classic poetry doesn't fit into aesthetics so much. Like Rupi would write about smelling parchment and shit, and the dark academia aesthetic blogs would reblog it. She would write an uplifting poem because the positivity blogs would reblog them. She knew it too. She definitely went for that sort of thing. That's why she goes so vague. They're not personal pieces of art with important messages to her, they just sound pretty and are "relatable" to loads of different types of people.

[@believeme6707]

kzbin.info/door/VXSabGO7xBXPM8pYR4v_KQ

[@sputniksweetheart5187]

WOWWWWWWWWW

[@oliviac761]

Finally somebody else who doesn’t think milk and honey are the most groundbreaking, incredible poems ever

[@pau4843]

Not even close honestly

[@skylarsaysstuff]

Keep yourself safe kid. The gacha community is perverted and toxic

[@SP.Addams]

I’m not a poetry person and gagged when I read it. I thought to myself “I must not be high minded?” Since I gleaned nothing from these “poems”

[@oliviac761]

Yeah there’s some pretty gross stuff out there

[@vickyengler21]

they‘re far from that, most of it basically sounds like r/thisisdeep stuff that 14 year old kids would write

[@akaye643]

He read me When I was once a simple poem Now I’m a novel He closed my pages shut And left me on a shelf Dusty

[@MrsWasGehtSieDasAn02]

you win this. This is everything lol! That simple "Dusty" killed me xD

[@silverharloe]

Challenge: Mix up the pages of Milk and Honey with the pages of adultolescence. Try to sort them into the correct books.

[@UnchartedAtlas]

I lterally have the exact same view on this book. It's like, if she had taken more time to accumulate more actual poems (I'm sorry, call me a snob but those shower thoughts were not poems) and maybe published a Chapbook of the best ones then maybe it would have been a good start to a career as a poet. But to me, this seemed more like an very obvious cash grab on her following based on instagram. The thing is as well, I don't want to shit on "teen girl culture" because it really does get a lot of heat for being cringey, but these instagram poems do work (to an extent) on the platform it was written for. It does not translate well to an actual book. Instagram poetry tends to be short and attention grabby because that's the nature of Instagram, but if you're going to put it in a book, you have the time to actually write (well a poem) but something more than a five line sentence. I also get the feeling maybe she hasn't ever actually sat and read any poetry before. I could be wrong and again, sound like a snob here, but Simon Armitage's first and most important rule for writing poetry (and I think this goes for all literature) is to read, read, read. To me I feel like her main source of inspiration was fake deep quotes and she just liked the idea of being called a poet, because it sounds more aesthetic and artistic. I will say though it has done wonders for the poetry community, bringing poetry back into the mainstream, although, call me a hipster but I do worry about the saturation of the artform, like anything that becomes a fad and popular, which might lead to a decline in the appreciation of quality poems (like you already said). Either way, awesome review as always, your drunk girl impression had me laughing. Peace.

[@1991LMR]

I enjoyed Milk and Honey. Not as a deep, intellectual poetry book. But as an easy to read, relatable and nicely illustrated book

[@babyfatbeauty6283]

I feel like Milk and Honey type poems are what a lot of my poems sound like in their beginning stages... Sometimes before I flesh a poem out it will have that "insta poet" ring, and for the longest time, I would stop there because I thought that these types of poems were the most marketable type of poetry. I'm really glad that I've found my icky grungy graphic voice and didn't get stuck here forever

[@happymaskedguy1943]

As someone who loves the work of Ted Hughes, David Harsent, Sorley Maclean, Charles Bukowski, Carol Ann Duffy (and to a slightly lesser extent, Sylvia Plath), I find Milk and Honey’s popularity to be soul crushingly, infuriatingly annoying. I know hundreds of amateur poets far more deserving of Kauer’s platform. She is a product of commercial opportunism, and it saddens me to no end that so many young people think that this is good poetry. It ain’t.

[@shelbygustafson3013]

As someone who is trying to get their poems published, THANK YOU. Ngl, the fact that she published AND GOT FAMOUS FOR *this* while amazing poets who are working their asses off to even get in a magazine makes me so so salty lol.

[@happymaskedguy1943]

I know what you mean. I’ve been writing poems for a few years now, and the amount of work involved in creating something of genuine worth is massive. I look at these bland, generalised, contrived statements masquerading as poetry, and I worry about the future for writers who place more importance in craft than likes.

[@imjustsadbro532]

Can you give me some recommendations ? I've only read the sun and her flowers (I forgot the title :( ) and I'm trying to get in poetry.

[@happymaskedguy1943]

For a beginner, I would recommend Jackie Kay, Carol Ann Duffy, Ted Kooser, Simon Armitage, Sharon Olds, and Seamus Heaney. From there I would check out Sylvia Plath, and my favourite poet, her husband, Ted Hughes. I highly recommend the documentary about them on youtube called ‘Ted Hughes: Stronger Than Death. Brilliant and incredibly moving. Good luck!

[@happymaskedguy1943]

Sorry, I also forgot to add that ‘The Rattle Bag’ is a fantastic place to start a journey into poetry. It’s a wide ranging anthology edited by Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney. It’s a goldmine of the very best verse.

[@raijinwolf2248]

I feel like Milk and Honey is the perfect example of a question I've had about poems for years: is it enough to have a powerful message? My answer is no, but each year seems to show me that the majority ruling is and may always be, yes.

[@insertnamehere799]

If it has a powerful message, does it need to be poetry to be heard? I think that’s the more important question. I wouldn’t exactly call it poetry, but it is important. Before reading things like this, I had no idea how one even talks about these subjects, much less write about them. It’s hard enough to even think about traumatic events, nevermind turning them into poetry. For me and many others, these books helped.

[@Strawberryleighhh]

Please do ‘the princess saves herself in this one’!

[@theresaegan3129]

I liked that one better than milk and honey tbh

[@Strawberryleighhh]

Elisa Castro it’s the name of the book hun chill out

[@giasharie274]

YES PLEASE

[@sammycopley1]

excellent vid! you've perfectly put into words my frustrations with this book. so many of her poems feel like she wrote down an observation in her notes app or as a twitter draft and then thought "actually, that's a poem, slap a drawing on it" - which sucks even more when she clearly is capable of fleshing out ideas into something genuinely engaging. p.s: just wondering what Fresh Poets Society is?? sounds exciting!

[@moirasoma2863]

Im so glad you called out this "poetry". Im a member of BetweenTwoBooks, a bookclub with ties to Florence Welch. They are a well read bunch, and I often like their book recommendations. But they rave about this book, and I thought it was just really bad. What is actually poetry is an endless dicussion. but I think this book failed that category.

[@lizzieturner8481]

BetweenTwoBooks, omg I love it!! Useless magic is my favorite gift I’ve ever gotten!! Do you all accept new members? I’d love to get involved!

[@moirasoma2863]

@@lizzieturner8481 Just look them up on Instagram! Everybody can join, no fee, its really fun! I love Florence too💓💓💓!

[@britann9539]

Florence 😍😦😯 Gosh! she's been a woman I look up to since I was in grade 10. I Started listening before her first album even came out. Her old demos and live performances! And then lungs was released, and it wasn't available in Canada for an excruciating time haha. So lovely that she has a bookclub

[@lizzieturner8481]

Moira soma thanks so much!! I’ll do that! 💛

[@BabvBlues]

OFF TOPIC BUT LOVING THE HAIR!!

[@laras.7670]

I tried reading "The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One" because of the hype, that was a mistake. I won't claim that I'm knowledgeable in poetry, but that book isn't really good.

[@chloe6844]

agreed. i remember enjoying all of amanda lovelace's books back when i was in my "everything is meaningful and poetic" phase but looking back they're all just thoughts thrown together with no actual structure. and oftentimes she didn't come off as a feminist in The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One, but just plain cocky, arrogant and angry at the world. just seems like a waste of paper to me now.

[@katepowell78]

I read The Princess Saves Herself In This One while I was in high school because I liked Milk and Honey, and I was just disappointed and... I don't know I just didn't get it so I was put off Lovelace since then.

[@theegalina6053]

All of Amanda love laces books are trash tho yo

[@Anna-ou7or]

Yes Just because A poem is set out Like this Does not make It Poetry Or Good.

[@Juli-sh7qu]

Anna 1201 I think you should write a book!! I would buy it cause you know: You are Very good at PoEtRy

[@generaldreagonlps6889]

This video has everything: a general good setup, Rachel trashing something bad, drunk Rachel, Rachel wearing a cute shirt, energy drink from a wineglass and a knockout Kyra in the background.

[@raspberrysparkletini]

Read it and found it terrible to be honest. The poems are something you'd find on tumblr and i can't believe that they were published. "The sun and her flowers" is equally terrible and I regret buying both poetry collections.

[@janellejajeh3412]

It’s bc she self published and got famous off Instagram.

[@majlordag1889]

I felt like she might have just copied everything from tumblr posts and changed it a little so noone would notice. It all seems like a huge victim-complex and lying to males that she likes the sex but secretly hates it.

[@anna2k_]

it was written in the same cadence as punjabi and was to resonate with other relationship abuse victims, so i feel like i dont really care whether i like it or not? as long as it resonates with the victims, i think its not my place to judge:)

[@carmenq7339]

@- anna - such a stupid way of thinking

[@augstuffie8609]

@@carmenq7339 bruh,,,,,,rupi literally wrote about rape,,,,,,,and people who went through something similar found cataphatic release in this book and like its chill if you don't like it but "such a stupid way of thinking" is such an unnecessary comment,,,,,,,like just why you gotta be a dick about it?

[@worldsbiggestholdthegirlfan]

One thing to note about Milk and Honey: it is written in the same cadence as Rupi’s mother tongue language, Punjabi

[@doctora.snakeman1427]

This is an important thing to keep in mind

[@anaphylacticpete5788]

Isnt rupi their money?

[@luizavazquez7029]

I don’t quite understand what the means. Could someone explain?

[@hoathanatos6179]

@@anaphylacticpete5788 Well Rupi also means silver, since the coins were originally made of silver, so that is more likely what her name should be translated to; however, the word originates from the Sanskrit Rupyah, which in turn comes from Rupa, meaning likeness or image. So it originally meant something that bears an image or a person's likeness, as coins are often imprinted with the likeness of royalty or images that symbolically represent the place it comes from.

[@deliasmith6506]

Zee P it can still be criticised

[@Nopee906]

I'm gonna need more drunk girl impressions. That was great.

[@i.need.a.new.nickname]

I agree

[@renroser6618]

I wanted to type something like this comment. If you ever see this, Rachel, you made me laugh at midnight when I was supposed to sleep. And that’s a compliment :D

[@katie3276]

my favourite poetry book is “no matter the wreckage” by sarah kay. i absolutely love her writing and her book remains on my bedside table to this day. she has some spoken word videos on youtube if you want to see some examples before buying the book, but i totally recommend it.

[@arilohr5641]

you should read "The Only Worlds We Know" by Michael Lee!!

[@ashleecarrero2237]

When love arrives 💕

[@Cupcake3453]

I love that book! One of my faves as well, Sarah is amazing

[@heartsinthebylines]

I love all of your videos but I’d have to say the ones about poetry are always my favorites! I love to put them on in the background when I’m working on crafts :) Side note: You should definitely read Please Don’t Go Before I Get Better by Madisen Kuhn, it was the book that really inspired me to try writing poetry again and I love her relatable yet creative perspective!

[@niamh5899]

my frustration with poetry books that include art is it makes me want to scream "don't show me, tell me!". they include images and illustrations that they don't even properly describe in their poem. i don't want the picture to tell me what the poem is describing, i'm not reading it for the pictures, i'm reading it for the poetry. tell me, describe it to me. don't just show me a picture, it feels so cheap.

[@rustingstardust5206]

I really agreed with so many of your points. i found the book REALLY just lazy. That was my main qualm with it. It had ideas that could have been developed too. Such a shame.

[@persephone-vibes]

rachel pouring a monster into a wine glass is a whole mood and a half

[@cammackie3789]

I've not read the book and although i Really Hate instagram poetry, i feel like she gets a couple of points for 'pioneering' the genre. She seems to try and take elements from ee cummings and edna st vincent millay like the lack of capitalism and short, sentence like poetry, but any individualism and innovation this may have had has been ruined by the deluge of copycats that used it as an excuse to be lazy af. She's the only instagram poet i will give any credit to. Whether her poems are actually good and she suceeds in these intentions is another matter entirely hahaha

[@fearlssx33]

Cam Mackie she gets no credit because her work was stolen

[@polinadenisova8665]

lack of capitalism :D :D :D

[@moonglimpsee]

I read that she uses the no punction or capital letters writing style because that's how her 1st language (Punjabi) is written and she wants to honour her culture.

[@miri5609]

@@moonglimpsee that's so cool! And it makes much more sense that doing it for the 'aesthetic' which is what a lot of people who write the same way do

[@Aster_Risk]

@@moonglimpsee I do appreciate that fact, even though I don't like her poems.

[@warrencon1]

I have come up with the term "popcorn poetry" to describe Rupi Kaur and her ilk. Might taste ok with butter and can be a yummy snack. It's no satisfying meal.

[@bruhjime2675]

The drunk girl in the club bathroom bit took me out cause that's exactly what it's like

[@letMeSayThatInIrish]

just now I found this beautiful channel just now I watched this informative video I never thought I could write a poem but look I can remove punctuation I can break the lines here and here now and now like a sailboat splitting the waves

[@OblueflyO]

I always felt like I was in a minority for not falling head over heels for her work. Finally someone is able to articulate what makes it so disappointing!

[@milkduds9148]

I don't care for poetry at all, in fact, I'd even say I actively dislike it, but I really enjoy these poetry review/analysis videos. It's interesting to hear how someone who does like poetry views these things and explain the why's and how's. Despite the casual, sometimes funny (hilarious drunk girl impression!) delivery, you've explained what makes poetry "good" or "bad" better than any English teacher I've had

[@safala]

I used to hate poetry as well, but after reading some of the poems Rachel compares these with, I think I just haven’t got the right poetry to read. I am giving poetry another try now.

[@EliassonOlivia]

Do you have a list with poetry books that you recommend for people to get into poetry? If not, could you please do it! :)

[@i.need.a.new.nickname]

In the introduction to poetry video, there's a list of a few things she linked to that she liked - I think.

[@creepykels]

Read any Stephen Dunn works! Mary Oliver is great, too. My favorite poet ever is Walter Benton and he is criminally underread so give him a shot!

[@arilohr5641]

omg read "The Only Worlds We Know" by Michael Lee!!!

[@scarletdesorgher6378]

Poems of the decade is an anthology of poems, most of which have been nominated for or won various poetry awards

[@lenamoser3888]

I know you didn't ask my opinion (sorry 😂), but in terms of modern poetry, I really like Gillian Clarke!

[@SimranKaur-oy5oj]

I really love this video because while the critique is very much valid, you also recognize the importance of the messaging. I think something that people forget is that Rupi comes from a South Asian background and some of these topics are just never talked about. As somebody from a similar cultural background, Rupi's poetry book allowed us to open some of the dialogue that was much needed in our community. In fact many activists in our community still use Rupi's poems as a means to illustrate some of their points. I feel like that's where much of the hype originally came from. I remember seeing almost every other South Asian women/influencer post about this on social media before it went mainstream. In a community where women are taught to obey and stay silent and "just bear with it", a book like this makes us feel that our feelings are valid . So while I understand that this book isn't really great poetry, I'll always appreciate the dialogue it has opened and the impact that dialogue has had.

[@akashveersingh528]

Sis, no one is invalidating her struggles here. Her poetry just sucks major ass

[@RoastedSaltedPeanut]

Rachel you're inspiring me to write again! I haven't been able to write anything in the past 2 years because I struggle just feeling emotions. Thank you so much for the poetry content!

[@wishbone-p4550]

her work is frustrating to me in that a lot of it feels like she's trying too hard to be quotable, if that makes sense. entire poems of hers feel like they should be singular lines within a bigger poem

[@potatomcgee6576]

I remember when I first read Milk and Honey I really enjoyed it, but now thinking back on it, I think I was just excited to both finally read Kaur's poetry and that her poetry was acknowledging things I have felt before. Now that I can look at it outside of that, I still enjoy her work, but as you've said there were poems I wish she would have elaborated more on. But I also think that single sentence poems can be good/have a spot in poetry books if that's not the majority of the content and if the structure of the poem is helping to further the message instead of just making the book look aesthetically pleasing.

[@d.lan3y]

I am a symphony And you are Van Gogh, my dear But oh, my dear, you've had a girl too many And cut off both ears Then you painted a nightscape In my image, in my deed But you had your eyes closed My darling, I need-- You've given to much to the others My love, and I fear I don't ask for mutilations But I must ask for your ear

[@rockifythis]

this slaps hard

[@sophiad548]

is this a song??? please tell me this is a song

[@d.lan3y]

@@sophiad548 nope. Just my take on the painting\eyes closed, symphony\couldn't hear thing. Since one is about painting and the other is about not being able to hear, I figured Van Gogh would tie them together nicely.

[@sophiad548]

@@d.lan3y makes sense!! it sounds wonderful

[@d.lan3y]

@@sophiad548 thank you :)

[@whatthehellisthis]

rachel, you’re spoiling us.

[@Ellie-jr5re]

That monologue at 20:45 until 21:52 inspired this, I don't have a name for it yet though. Given that I wrote it just after hearing that, this probably isn't very good. Here it is: We dig out our rut in the land, So small at first, So precious and safe, We started at the top of the world. Every day we slither downwards, Tributaries joining as we go, Gaining speed, Gaining traction as we build up, Digging deeper with every inch we travel. We rush forward, Running white tears rolling Through the waves we make, As the landscape is cut and scarred. We run in one direction, Forward. Always forward, Towards the ocean, Rushing at the top, Leisurely strolling at the bottom. We slow down, We breathe with the rolling stones Bouncing through us like music, Like a dance we're too tired, Too old to join in with. We crawl our way forward, No longer rushing, No longer speeding for the end, The beautiful trap of freedom, The liberty becoming more confining Than the dirt and mud ever was. We stagger forward, Falling one by one into captivity outside, We no longer rush, We no longer speed to the inevitable, Towards the mouth of the delta, Through the teeth that bite, And cause us to split Just before we're free. The tributaries that were, Became the rush of motion, The rush of chasing the very end, Until we were left to crawl. The next stream will follow, Until one day, The banks run empty. This is my explanation of it: It's about youth and growing older. From the beginning people are excited to grow up, we gain friends, experience different feelings and have different experiences, but once we mature we slow down, we don't try to rush to grow up anymore, with life experience behind us and new territory in front of us, we just keep going until we, inevitably, die. As we don't all die at once, friends and families are separated at the end by who dies when. - "Tributaries" are friends/families and these join at the beginning to create the river - The river itself represents generations "the next stream" will be the next generation, maybe they'll follow the old path or they'll change course, similar to meanders and the formation of ox-bow lakes. - "Rolling stones" is part of traction, a process within rivers, whilst also being a reference to the band, to represent being older, while "one direction" represents youth while also showing that rivers only move towards the ocean at all times. - "Bouncing" to do with saltation, one way in which rivers carry sediment. Also represents dancing to music, hence "rolling stones" and, previously, "one direction". - "Mouth" is the mouth of the river and used in the context of an animal's mouth. A delta is at the mouth of a river and is, therefore, the "teeth" in the "mouth". - The ocean represents death. It is inescapable, and the river moves towards it with no choice. The ocean is free and open, as such death can be seen of being free from the clutches of life, once the river escapes the banks. However, the ocean is contained in that gravity holds it down and it's tide is controlled by the moon and sun, like coffins, a widely known symbol of death, that people use to bury the dead or their ashes, controlling their bodies before they decompose or are burnt. - "Next stream" this is the younger generation. - When "the banks run empty" we'll have seen the end of civilisation

[@user-rz5ew2ft8h]

I genuinely enjoyed this poem! you’re a really good writer- please don’t ever stop writing!

[@Ellie-jr5re]

@@user-rz5ew2ft8h Thanks you so much! I'll keep writing, I don't plan to stop.

[@donnaalmonte8755]

Loved this! Spoke to me

[@Ellie-jr5re]

@@donnaalmonte8755 Thank you! I almost want to know how it spoke to you, but I won't be nosy. :)

[@liajones6098]

I do think that Rupi was intending to speak about important and personal things in some instances. In certain poems, I think she may have stopped herself from going very far in a fear of sharing too much. And of course, there is the advantage of an audience being able to connect to the poetry more easily. I know a few were kind of generic, but on the whole, it's a book I really enjoy.

[@kitchensinkchronicles3272]

the reason poems like this got so popular is because they’re short and easy to consume. perfect for social media. this got popular because people tweeted the poems out or put them in their instagram captions. without twitter and instagram this would’ve never caught on.

[@inanimatecarbongod]

This is why I don't like the whole "Instapoetry" thing; it's about something that looks like poetry because it's being made for visual outlets like Tumblr or Instagram, so the visual impression is more important than what's actually being said (which probably explains the accompanying illustrations too). I mean, you can do minimalism and be meaningful with it, but there's a fine line between minimal and empty, and this sort of thing seems to cross over into the latter a lot... And there are few things I hate more than "poetry" that is clearly just prose with line breaks. I know, I've done it myself. "Let's do shots. Shots? Shots." really should've been the last line of that particular poem.

[@caseybedwell-coll5252]

I don’t know how to explain this but… I liked her poems, but they weren’t good. They were nice to read and they helped me realize that I wasn’t crazy for feeling certain ways, but they weren’t exactly poetry.

[@Livyopeach]

most of her poetry reminds me of things i write in my notes that i would then further develop into an actual full length poem.

[@nynkebenschop]

24:12 As a 16 year old girl, I can confirm, most of us write like that.

[@azkabooks]

the drunk girl impression was spot on, and now i can't help but realize that's exactly how that poem sounds lol

[@Mel-qs8wx]

😐

[@lisooman2400]

That's how I feel about poetry like this, I'd call it fast poetry, like fast food: appealing, diggestible (idk if fast food is digestible but i hope you get the point). Rupi's poems hold important messages or are just cool, look nice but i don't think that's enough to put out. I think these are essentially sentences that could be included in a book to make it iteresting. A cohesive collection of those incorporated into a story would be awesome. On their own, they feel to me as if the author thought she was so cool and smart for writing that and readers accept that without looking for more. It's a shame but it's nice that more people who don't read real poetry are drawn to it through such poetry.

[@nostradamus1162]

can you do flux by orion carloto? she's an influencer and her fans praise her poetry but im kinda iffy about it. i'd love to hear your opinion

[@rotroom]

That book disappointed me bc it cost like 30$ and most of the poems were like 3-4 lines:/

[@fionaj.851]

She demonstrates the difference between a poem and an inspirational quote☠️☠️

[@saigeferko6035]

While I don't think they're the most magnificent poems EVER, they're good, definitely not as bad as Lele Pons videos 😂

[@Allgloss312]

Yeah theyre a mixed bag. People judge her too harshly though imo. Theres a few poems here that really did stick with me, but for the most part her stuff is style over substance.

[@scarletyonbaker3887]

i would say reading them made me feel the same way as watching leles videos. you cant say ones worse than the other; they're completely different medias AND genres, but that initial feeling of repulsion i get when i read some of these poems is very familiar to watching a lele sketch

[@Aster_Risk]

@@Allgloss312 This is only happening years after it was unacceptable to dislike her poems, regardless of the critique.

[@emilyselders9325]

I bought this book and the "sequel" to it a few years ago and at the time really liked them. I was a young teenager and this was the first poetry I read outside of English class. I liked how easy they were to understand and how it talked about important topics. This year (I'm 18 now, so a bit older) when I was going through my bookshelf to get rid of some things, I chose not to keep them because I realized how surface-level many of the "poems" were. I'm still grateful I read them because it's what introduced me to reading poetry for fun and I don't think it's complete trash.

[@tiaralcu]

btw drinking the monster out of a wine glass is such a great representation of your personality

[@subscriptionfanforev]

this a really well-thought out critique done in good faith, which is something i've come not to expect from "skeptic" channels, so thank you friend

[@Aster_Risk]

Rachel is one of the best skeptic channels. She never seems to act in bad faith, and it's probably why I still watch her but not a lot of the other folks I used to.

[@themystery424]

Pouring the Monster into the wine glass is a whole mood and I am here for it.

[@tifftargaryen490]

The Sun and Her Flowers is a massive improvement

[@lottevanderpaelt1684]

The drunk girl imitation was so good. Never knew I needed it, but god that was great

[@sophiechen4874]

Rachel: "Look at my little Kyrabell, such an angel." Kyra: flops down like an angel On another note, Kyra is the most adorable pupper.

[@brunetteartist24]

Your drunk girl impression made me laugh way more than it should have😂 I think the scorpion, the bicycle and the fire vs water metaphors are really interesting ideas... The ears cut off one is smt idk why but i wanna make an artwork on it? It's an interesting concept Also the angsty teen poetry- as a 16 year old myself, i can assure you i have written these kind of "nobody understands and appreciates me, i deserved better anyways" + my ex wrote the exact same poems and send them to me ALSO WE NEED THE VIDEO WITH YOU EXPOSING YOUR POETRY

[@librasax7369]

As a sexual abuse victim from the south Asian community, who was repeatedly raped from the age of 6 by a family member, Milk & Honey helped me tremendously. She collated my feelings and put them into simple words. I’ve never cried so hard reading the book. Milk & Honey is not for everyone.

[@jwlsiee]

i don't mean to take away from your experience but if you require such specific experience to relate to the content of the poem isnt that poorly written? there are plenty of poets who write about their trauma that make good art that moves people from all backgrounds even as it covers a personal experience

[@Manu-dp4ls]

@@jwlsiee you dont need that specific experience to relate to it. Ive never been sexually abused yet i could still emphathize with the feelings of grief, pain and anger in this book bcuz of other experiences in my life. Poetry and pretty much all forms of art is subjective. Whether it is good or bad depends on the individual reader.

[@jwlsiee]

@@Manu-dp4ls the "art is subjective" thing is kind of misused here. when disussing practical criticism, there is a sense of objectivity that you can discuss a text with, and this one doesnt really employ language or structure well...

[@Manu-dp4ls]

@julian lee sure, maybe it is not as well written as other poetry. But im not a creative writing major and neither are most people who read this book. I dont care how objectively well written something is, this book moved me, just like it moved many other people. So to me, this book is good and i love it. So many other "better written" books just didint do it for me. How objectively good something is matters very little.

[@jwlsiee]

@@Manu-dp4ls except technique use is a tool to make it move readers better. engaging more with the writing of an author SHOULD yield a more rewarding reading experience, not less. i get that you liked it. you arent wrong for liking it. that doesnt change that it's bad poetry.

[@leticiabayliss6294]

I loved this video! The trend of "tumblr poetry" is very interesting, I do also think it is very telling of this generation. Young people read these published books and suddenly feel like they are talented poets also, these "poems" they've paid for resembling their latest instagram caption or shower thought (an odd, little ego boost). Ambiguity is also popular amongst young people, as the average generic "deep" poem leaves room for an imaginative and angsty young person to relate it to whatever their current situation may be. Yes, the book has potential and young people taking interest in poetry at all is a great thing; I'm not discrediting that at all. I just find it interesting to recognise and discuss these trends

[@bro-rm5xo]

Sweet As Milk and Honey Gone off With the scent Of the fermented fake deep

[@bro-rm5xo]

Did I do it right lmao

[@adarkerdimension]

Hehehe good job

[@katbatson]

Rachel have you ever considered taking poetry submissions from fans, and then make a video on them? Critiquing, analyzing, etc? That would be really fun and I’d definitely submit some of mine.

[@treehugger9070]

Her poetry did help open up my mind from the cult like religion I grew up in and did help me move on from a super toxic relationship and made me realize self care was important

[@basilcook4280]

@@spideryconcubine9055 she forgot about this comment, ig. My money’s on mormonism or jehovah witnesses

[@Manu-dp4ls]

And thats great. Milk and honey is one of my favourites books ever. It helped me process so many emotions i had and its very dear to me. Dont let anyone tell you that you cant like it. Books, movies, art are all subjective. You can like what you like. 💕

[@HaidebugCreates]

I got a Milk and Honey when I was 14 and I remember loving I’m 20 now and haven’t read it since so I might feel different if I read it again lol.

[@maryh8240]

Random Fandom that’s impossible the book has only been out since 2016???

[@hannahtobias8278]

It was originally published in November 2014

[@LaceCoveredSkies]

Omg THANK YOU. I needed to hear this. I studied poetry and wrote and submitted poems to literary magazines one by one back in the day. Stuff like this is very lazy yet does so well. Underdeveloped is spot on

[@boilingpoolnoodle3927]

rachel saying “wild, dangerous, but free” , then almost spilling her wine glass full of monster, spoke to me more than most of these poems

[@marisu9765]

The surname Kaur is pronounced like the word 'core,' but with a bit more breath to it, if that makes sense.

[@saintjimmy382]

I had high expectations for this book. I felt dissapointed and didnt even finish the book. Most of the poems i felt like i had already read a few pages earlier. Repetative and predictable

[@SoniaAnastasiaaa]

RIGHT !??! I was always wondering what the hype of this book was about. So many of the "poems" sound like tweets I would just think of in the middle of the night or on the toilet LOL

[@TheCroniclesOfMe]

PLEASE review r h sin's poems next- peak instagram poetry that often comes off misogynistic, at least in what i've read from him.

[@SS-yl5wo]

TheCroniclesOfMe yeah it honestly sucks. I read one of his books a while back, and was shocked at how he was trying to ‘appeal’ to women whereas he just came off as extremely condescending. He and the guy that wrote this dreadful him and her books are two of my least fav poets

[@ashyasneski]

as someone who used to be a fan of his, yeah. his writings suck

[@nerdylisette7096]

u should review "the princess saves herself in this one" or "the witch doesnt burn in this one". would love to hear your thoughts on that author.

[@creepykels]

So I'm gunna bite the bullet and leave one of my poems here because I love you and I love that as a poet there are still people out there interested in us. If you hate it, let me know, I can only improve but I'd fangirl to death if you read it! KZbin obviously doesn't allow format text, so it does take away from my flow, but here goes nothing, oh god: Fearing Water My father has never yelled at me, but he did leave me, once: he followed the sickly-sweet tendrils of some meaty, bloody thing disguising itself as my heart, and told me not to come home again. The problem is that he WAS my home, and so I became one of the many sad faces on the streets- half a person with no one left to perch on their toes while I danced or take me to a movie no one could comprehend caring about but us and so most of the help my body had learned started leaking out of the puncture wounds his absence had freckled all over me. --- It took him a very long time to come back to me but I love him like he’ll never return.

[@lschizzle]

That last stanza is rad.

[@anaphylacticpete5788]

No one left Toes to perch upon < that's my only feedback, the flow in verbiage can be rearranged so each segment stays within the image you've painted so beautifully. This was a wonderful poem to read, and I'm excited to see how your writing grows and evolves.

[@creepykels]

@@anaphylacticpete5788 Oh my god THANK YOU, I have been trying to figure out what was wrong in that stanza and I just couldn't place it! Thank you so much for reading it!

[@creepykels]

@@lschizzle :3 thank you so much!

[@Aster_Risk]

I like the content of the poem, but I'm curious why you formatted it this way? I have some ideas about why but really wanted to hear it from you.

[@lydjoy3385]

I miss real poetry--like the ones I read in my literature classes in high school and college. Poetry from Margaret Atwood, Pablo Neruda, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, etc. Poetry that you can analyze and find new meanings every time you come back to it. I don't like mainstream poetry. I get that they explore important topics like sexuality or mental health, etc, but it's just random words strung together on random lines. There's no intended structure. There's no thought process. It's like they focus so hard on the poem LOOKING nice (instagrammable); they sacrifice quality and depth for looks. And don't get me started on the doodles. Anyway. I want to explore more modern poetry books by young writers (I'm 21), but all the ones I've come across are pseudo-deep, have poor writing, and unoriginal doodles. Does anyone have any suggestions????? Because I'm about to give up. I want poetry, not quotes.

[@steph2994]

I got you: Helium The Tradition Prelude to the Bruise (still reading this but enjoying it so far). This way to the sugar No Matter the wreckage War of the foxes Our Numbered Days

[@Throatzillaaa]

@@steph2994 Love Helium!

[@SoICanComment163]

Richard Siken (someone mentioned War of the Foxes) try small local presses. They often have really high quality work, both full length and chapbooks, because they must be so selective.

[@forrestwitthuhn2321]

I know I’m two years late, but: -Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar: pretty brutal explorations of mental health, alcoholism, and culture, with a frank and often anxious tone. Great imagery. -Bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward: exploring many of the themes Rupi Kaur tries to, but much more competently. Hard-hitting, biographical, lush description. -Soft Science, by Franny Choi: one of the most interesting books of poetry I’ve ever read. Fascinating structures and premises, science fantasy backdrop for descriptions of very real experiences.

[@lydjoy3385]

@@forrestwitthuhn2321 better late than never!! thank you for the suggestions!

[@jamesoncaps4238]

I love how your videos are entertaining but also instructive. I feel like I’ve learned so much about poetry and art from you. In the current state of KZbin criticism, it’s really nice to see someone criticizing bad art because they care about art instead of just cringing at how lame something is. You always keep it constructive and encourage me to make good things!

[@nanablooms]

The close-up of Kyra plopping down on the yellow blankie is adorable!

[@mwst2095]

I saw this comment somewhere else, but please please do “The Princess Saves Herself” in this one

[@tessabaker1630]

I would love to see a list of your favorite poems as well as why the are, I am really interested in getting into reading more poetry. I would love to see them.