The Algorithmic Life of Verse: Certain poetic traits act as reliable catalysts for virality, triggering an algorithmic reflex of appreciation and backlash.
What social media has allowed is the re-entry of ordinary people into Literature.
This had been blocked off for most of the last hundred years, as 'Poetry' and so many other fine arts were sequestered in a world of academics writing only for their students and each other.
Now their 'poems' are exposed as either readable, defendable works or the slop that they are.
We are finally recovering from the 20th century, and it's wonderful to see.
im so glad I found this! it articulated so well something else I was beginning to explore in a piece of my own. I loved yours and it helped me finish mine, so thank you very much for that.
twitter in general is the equivalent of being surrounded on all sides by either idiots or someone responding, exasperated (denoting ingroups), to an idiot. It's a plato's cave where the shadows being traipsed before you are the worst opinions you've ever heard, no matter your politics.
The move towards smaller digital spaces can recapture the social euphoria of the early internet though. Bad poetry will not go viral in a group chat, or a discord with rules against posting things to mock or make example of.
I love this so much. I LOVE IT. I love your observations, questions and conclusions. I love the screenshots you selected to illustrate your points. Some made me laugh until I literally cried. If you ever teach a poetry workshop or informal class I so want to attend. Oh this piece made my brain so happy! And it reminded me of watching Austin’s Poetry Slam scene evolve from the very start—when it was kooky and free and all over the map—to the stylized thing it became (Oh. How I hated. The. Stupid. Cadence.) So much to consider here about how and where poetry is consumed. Thank you! Absolutely delicious.
This was so good. It really echos how social media is simply not reality and is a bubble. Also, social media running on hate to keep it going and get more likes and comments. Essentially there is no form of critical thinking happening or being fostered. Love the phrase "private contemplation to public performance".
an interesting read! when I think about viral poems I have a very different canon that comes to mind, including wendy cope's the orange, having a coke with you, good bones, this be the verse, two headed calf..... It's interesting to see how these poems fall into some of the same viral attractor states your post lays out but are also infinitely more successful as aesthetic objects. it's not necessarily a dichotomy!
Exactly, whatever is highly encouraged and positively viral on one platform must be proportionately discouraged and negatively viral in any of its neighbors that do not want to see more of it. The pressures on each side have to match and cancel for there to be stable difference and coexistence. The same thing has to happen with immune systems where antibodies have to multiply just as fast as viruses to counter them: healthy inflammatory responses grow at rates that just-enough-outmatch a virus's spread in the body. If only people went deeper and more poetic with these superficial science metaphors more often... nicely written!
loooove
yay steff
What social media has allowed is the re-entry of ordinary people into Literature.
This had been blocked off for most of the last hundred years, as 'Poetry' and so many other fine arts were sequestered in a world of academics writing only for their students and each other.
Now their 'poems' are exposed as either readable, defendable works or the slop that they are.
We are finally recovering from the 20th century, and it's wonderful to see.
im so glad I found this! it articulated so well something else I was beginning to explore in a piece of my own. I loved yours and it helped me finish mine, so thank you very much for that.
here it is if you'd like to read it.
https://ellastening.substack.com/p/quotes-ive-seen-reposted-on-social
twitter in general is the equivalent of being surrounded on all sides by either idiots or someone responding, exasperated (denoting ingroups), to an idiot. It's a plato's cave where the shadows being traipsed before you are the worst opinions you've ever heard, no matter your politics.
The move towards smaller digital spaces can recapture the social euphoria of the early internet though. Bad poetry will not go viral in a group chat, or a discord with rules against posting things to mock or make example of.
I love this so much. I LOVE IT. I love your observations, questions and conclusions. I love the screenshots you selected to illustrate your points. Some made me laugh until I literally cried. If you ever teach a poetry workshop or informal class I so want to attend. Oh this piece made my brain so happy! And it reminded me of watching Austin’s Poetry Slam scene evolve from the very start—when it was kooky and free and all over the map—to the stylized thing it became (Oh. How I hated. The. Stupid. Cadence.) So much to consider here about how and where poetry is consumed. Thank you! Absolutely delicious.
The last sentence was perfect. Very poetic itself. Great essay
This was so good. It really echos how social media is simply not reality and is a bubble. Also, social media running on hate to keep it going and get more likes and comments. Essentially there is no form of critical thinking happening or being fostered. Love the phrase "private contemplation to public performance".
an interesting read! when I think about viral poems I have a very different canon that comes to mind, including wendy cope's the orange, having a coke with you, good bones, this be the verse, two headed calf..... It's interesting to see how these poems fall into some of the same viral attractor states your post lays out but are also infinitely more successful as aesthetic objects. it's not necessarily a dichotomy!
Exactly, whatever is highly encouraged and positively viral on one platform must be proportionately discouraged and negatively viral in any of its neighbors that do not want to see more of it. The pressures on each side have to match and cancel for there to be stable difference and coexistence. The same thing has to happen with immune systems where antibodies have to multiply just as fast as viruses to counter them: healthy inflammatory responses grow at rates that just-enough-outmatch a virus's spread in the body. If only people went deeper and more poetic with these superficial science metaphors more often... nicely written!