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Five Modern Poets for People Who Just Can’t Get into Poetry
By: Caitie Butterworth
If I had a dime for every person I’ve talked to at St. Ed’s who “likes poetry, but doesn’t read a lot of it,” I’d probably have enough to pay for my undergrad studies here.
As the world’s attention continues to bend towards the accessible, much of modern poetry goes unread, unspoken, and unheard. However, the social tension and global conflict of recent years continue to yield a vast, vibrant crop of creative work, poetry included. Here are five modern poets worth checking out if you’ve found that you “kind of like” poetry, but struggle to get into the recent stuff.
1. Rupi Kaur
If you’ve stopped by the Barnes and Noble poetry section in the past 4 years, you’ve almost certainly seen half a million copies of Rupi Kaur’s thin, matte-black volume, “Milk and Honey.” Kaur is a 25-year-old, Indian-Canadian poet from Punjab, India. Her writing carries emotional density in its simplest forms through direct language and short, raw, affirmative prose. Her work centers around topics like rebirth, renewal, feminism, womanhood, heartbreak, and recovery. As an artist, she’s all about empathy, strength, resilience, and finding the beauty within your own inner chaos.
Why Should I Bother?
Kaur’s poetry is the kind of writing that makes you a more empathetic, if not more understood person. While centered around personal experience, Kaur’s poems speak the language of humanity and communicate meaning that can be experienced by anyone at any point in life. Her simple, direct language is straight to the heart and easily digestible, making her poems enjoyable, powerful, and deeply felt.
· “Loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself.”
(For more, see https://rupikaur.com/)
2. Robert M. Drake
A poet whose work is a near cousin to Kaur's, Robert M. Drake writes about romantic passion, heartbreak, and feeling at odds with society. His work, to me, communicates the aged-up expression of teenage angst, only better articulated and further developed. Garnering popularity through Instagram, his work is poignant and thoughtful while remaining accessible and entertaining.
Why Should I Bother?
Because anyone who’s ever been in love--and especially anyone who’s ever been smitten by a complicated, passionate, strong-willed woman--can relate to his work. Drake’s poems will take you back to your first teenage crush, your first kiss, your first break-up, guiding you once again through that still-green elation of hope and bewilderment, then heartbreak, then latent, childhood wonder you no longer thought you had in you. Get comfy, light some candles, and brace yourself for a good, empowered cry.
· “She was a beautiful dreamer. The kind of girl, who kept her head in the clouds, loved above the stars and left regret beneath the earth she walked on.”
(For more, see https://www.instagram.com/rmdrk/?hl=en)
3. Gabriel Gadfly
A slightly lesser-known poet, Gabriel Gadfly writes some of the most beautiful modern love poems I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Gadfly’s style is sharp and understated, candid and well-knit, the kind of poetry that stays with you and stings years after you’ve read it, like an old burn.
Why Should I Bother?
Gadfly’s work will make you feel and leave you in awe. Unlike Kaur and Drake, his poems express their depth in a much quieter, darker way, one personal and human that leaves you eager for more.
· “I Did Not Keep Your Letters// I read them, and then threw them in the trash, but make no mistake, I read them” (I can’t bring myself to spoil the best lines of this poem. For your own sake, look up “I Did Not Keep Your Letters.”)
(For more, see https://hellopoetry.com/gabriel-gadfly/)
4. R.H. Sin
Another up-and-coming Instagram poet, R.H. Sin writes approachable pieces centered around relationships and the plight of women. A new feminist perspective from a male voice, his newest volumes line shelves and disappear quickly.
Why Should I Bother?
R.H. Sin’s work is smart and simple. His message is important and delivered as if obvious. Read to reinvigorate the feminist fire beneath you or remind yourself why it is you should fight the good fight. Ideal for anyone who believes women deserve rights.
· “Respect her mind, feed her soul, protect her peace, guard her heart”
(For more, see http://www.rhsin.com/. The New Yorker also wrote a great article about him last year: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-life-of-an-instagram-poet)
5. Natalie Diaz
This. Woman. Is. Fire.
A recent visiting writer with the St. Ed’s Visiting Writer Series, Diaz is a mighty force to be reckoned with. A Native American poet born in Oklahoma, Diaz’s poetry approaches topics of womanhood, racial discrimination, familial discord, and coming of age as a Native American.
Why should I bother?
Her witty writing is surprising and brightly striking, like a gleam of sunlight off the hood of a rusty, piecemeal car—it brings beauty to the grungier parts of life: poverty, drug-use, racism. Well-composed and authentic to the bone, Natalie Diaz is a poet whose work is truly worth your time.
· “They didn’t know what else to do except be there to pick him up when he died. They forgot who was dying, who was already dead.”
(For more, check out her first book, “When My Brother Was An Aztec.”)