Blog Page 59

We Love Refinery 29’s List Of Gen-Z Rising Stars

By
Ashleigh Angel
Rising Stars Lennon Stella, Sophia Lillis, and Ariela Barer
Rising Stars Lennon Stella, Sophia Lillis, and Ariela Barer
Reading Time: 2 minutes

These Gen-Z ladies are worth every bit of hype and love we’re sending their way, and we’ll tell you why.

Soccer and band practice aren’t the reason these Gen-Zer’s have packed schedules. These rising stars are booked with interviews, shoots, recording sessions, appearances, and red carpets. Oh, and don’t forget, building empires.

While they may be hooked on Instagram like the rest of Gen-Z, they understand and utilize it as a business tool. Did we mention the majority of the list have follower counts in the millions? Very impressive. We love Refinery29’s list of the spunky rising stars of 2019, Gen-Z edition.

We did some social snooping on these cooler-than-us Gen-Zer’s and found a few that love poetry and literature just as much as you do.

Lennon Stella – Age 19

Lennon and her sister Maisy went viral for their cover of “Call Your Girlfriend” overnight. She often posts her favorite quotes and poems to her stories on Instagram. This brunette beauty gives us major personal style inspiration. Stella released her debut EP, Love, Me November of last year. With already sold out shows, her Love, Me tour kicks off this March. We can’t wait to see all she accomplishes.

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<3

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k no more selfies lennon

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Sophia Lillis – 16

A New York native, Sophia Lillis is most known for her breakout role in the film It and HBO’s Sharp Objects series. Lillis shares her love for her work, photographs of friends, and quirky captions with her 1.4 million followers on Instagram.

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Mystery solved! Headed home.

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Missing Team Nancy Drew!

A post shared by Sophia (@sophialillis) on

Ariela Barer – 20

Ariela Barer is most noted for her role of Gert in Hulu’s Original series Marvel’s Runaways. Following Barer on Twitter and Instagram is a treat. She is extremely active, speaks on current events, and is unapologetically herself. We love how Barer lets down her walls in a way where we can connect with her on a personal level.

Another thing we love about Barer is her civic engagement. This generation believes in standing up for what they know is right. Whether or not they’re yet old enough to cast ballots, it’s apparent that they’re educating themselves in global political issues spanning everything from climate change to civil rights to foreign policy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc-7O_UFsQY/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoRubjyBSfu/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsUtgwWBoVM/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkJq7L3hSYu/

To keep up with our favorites from the list, follow them on Instagram (@lennonstella), (@sophialillis), and (@arielabarer).

Don’t missthe entire rockstar list of 2019’s Rising Stars Under 21 from R29.

What is Poetic Meter? (And Why Does It Matter?)

By
little infinite
Example of Meter in poetry
Reading Time: < 1 minute

You’ve already survived English Lit and your prose style is free-form… does meter even matter to you? (It should, and here’s why.)

Meter. noun. poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses.

From Dictionary.com’s entry for meter.

When it comes to writing poetry, you can be as rebellious with your wordsmithing as you’d like, but there’s a sensibility in writing that rings true even for today’s instapoets. The rule is simple: You must understand the rules before you can break them.

Meter falls into this category of understanding. The poetic meter of your work will impact not just the cadence of your piece as others read it, but also the way in which you speak it out loud in performances. It sets the pattern to which you pace your breaths, pauses, line breaks.

The math here is simple: Feet are the units of rhythm. You put them together to form a pattern, and that’s your meter. Rhythm itself as a technical term is the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables.

How do you know what your stressed vs. unaccented syllables will be? No worries– feet have you covered.

Meter (and feet, poetic units of rhythm) is what gives your poetry its character. It’s the difference between a hard staccato and a breathy whisper of language. You don’t have to adhere to the rigid structures of the iambic pentameter to appreciate the difference of pacing that paying attention to meter will afford your poetry.

Photo by Sarah Brink on Unsplash

What is Slam Poetry?

By
little infinite
What is slam poetry?

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Slam poetry is the trend right now, but its roots dig deep into poetry’s long history.

Once upon a time, Poetry was exclusively a spoken form of art. Slam Poetry might seem trendy and new, proliferating the internet in viral videos. But it’s arguably one of the first, oldest, and most authentic forms of poetic expression.

Poetry Slam. noun. A Competition using elimination rounds for the reading or performance of poetry.

It’s half art and half competition, and there’s usually an equal emphasis on writing and performing. Judges are normally selected from the audience, and the scoring rubric is typically your standard 1-10 point system. The audience is the key differentiating factor here, with audience engagement being the primary goal of your poem and its performance. Artists are encouraged to focus on not just what they are saying, but how they are saying it. A reaction from the crowd– preferably a favorable one– is the whole point (and the main thing that sets Poetry Slams apart from simple open mic readings).

After the first round of readings, which most often allows anyone who signs up to perform, the judges decide who advances based on the pre-determined scoring system. Some venues standardize audience feedback mechanisms (progressing from snapping fingers to stomping feet to verbal boo-ing if they dislike a poet, or clapping, whistling, or cheers if they want more) to aid the judges in reading the room’s reaction.

Before Kanye West made his name famous with rap, he appeared on Def Poetry Jam. His body of work gives an exceptional example of the stark difference between Rap and Slam Poetry.

What is the U.S. Poet Laureate’s Job description?

By
little infinite
Tracy K. Smith - U.S. Poet Laureate
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Sounds antiquated, but the American Poet Laureate is a crucial role in maintaining the artistic balance and integrity of the country.

Aspiring poets should know the name of Tracy K. Smith. Set aside the awards she’s won (many) and the poetry she’s published (innumerable) and her educational and professional pedigree (awe-inspiring). Smith is the current U.S. Poet Laureate, and with that title comes a very important job description.

According to the Library of Congress, the U.S. Poet Laureate serves a very specific role:

 

Tracy K. Smith, U.S. Poet Laureate, 2017- 
Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths source

“As the nation’s official poet, the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry.”

Library of Congress Website

 

 

What does a poet laureate do with their time? The Library of Congress leaves the job description intentionally vague. The intention is to give the poet laureate plenty of flexibility to adapt their work and projects to the needs and landscape of the current American poetry scene.

In the past, poet laureates have done everything from place an emphasis in their work on literary festivals and seminars to implementing programs with a national reach and embarking on lecture tours.

Smith has spent her tenure as the U.S. Poet Laureate in small towns around the country, connecting with rural communities. Smith said of the experience, “My project as Poet Laureate has brought me into contact with rural communities in the South and Southwest, and not only do we recognize and have many things to say to each other, but talking about poems together allows us to access and share our feelings and bear witness to the experiences that shape our lives. I’m excited to pursue this project further over the next year.”

Her work is highly celebrated (check out her official write up by the Library of Congress for a full list of her accomplishments and published works), and Smith remains a resonant voice for young poets today to tune into. Most recently, she has launched a daily podcast discussing a new poem by various writers every day: The Slowdown. As far as we’re concerned, it’s required listening.

Can We Talk About (How Much We Love) Cleo Wade?

By
little infinite
Poet Cleo Wade on her Courageous Love Tour for her debut book, Heart Talk
Reading Time: < 1 minute

You’ll have to excuse us for gushing, but Cleo Wade and her book Heart Talk have totally enchanted us.

We love celebrating women. It’s one of the things we have most in common with Cleo Wade, the instagram sensation taking our hearts and minds by storm. Wade’s book, Heart Talk, reads more like a love letter for the mind and hug for the heart than a collection of poems. The words wrap you in comfort, remind you to stay present, and pull you back into a world brimming with gratitude for everything you have.

One of the things we’re most grateful for is Wade, and the way she opens her heart and mind to share with us her work. Especially on Instagram. After closing her Courageous Love Tour, and after encouraging people to get to the polls for the midterm elections, Wade has settled into the holiday season with words of encouragement for everyone.

Her debut book, Heart Talk, brings joy to everyone who reads it. Wade curates thoughtful depictions of her book in the wild. A shining amalgam of poetry, affirmations, art, and verse, Heart Talk topped all our holiday lists– to give and to get.

The biggest treat might be to see Wade’s work loose in the wild. She did a series of poems that lit up the LA palm trees (and our creative energy), and her holiday season pop-up shops gave her readers a rare opportunity to collect original prints from Wade herself.

Keep up with Cleo

Follow her Instagram (@cleowade) or visit her site: cleowade.com.

Political Poetry is Having a Moment and It’s About Darn Time

By
little infinite
Political poet activist holding a megaphone at a rally.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

There is a lot to be said in and about the current political climate in America. The newest voices chiming in are those of poets, and we are here for it.

Poet laureate Tracy K. Smith wrote an essay for the New York Times this week about the ways in which poetry is setting down its plumed pen, donning its battle armor, and stepping up its game in the political arena. 

Political poetry, even here in America, has done much more than vent. It has become a means of owning up to the complexity of our problems, of accepting the likelihood that even we the righteous might be implicated by or complicit in some facet of the very wrongs we decry. Poems willing to enter into this fraught space don’t merely stand on the bank calling out instructions on how or what to believe; they take us by the arm and walk us into the lake, wetting us with the muddied and the muddled, and sometimes even the holy.

Tracy K. Smith, Political Poetry is Hot Again for the New York Times

And that is how poetry once again begins to carry its weight in the arena of public discourse– especially in the era of the empowered #instapoet. Savvy poets and engaged audiences are the keys to the new political wave of poetry, with social media at the center of the rippling effects. Smith touches on the more significant impact of politics becoming a common denominator for a group of motivated, vocal artists with the courage to raise their voices and their platforms: community.

Through the strange labor of deciphering the text, I come to understand that Charles is transmitting an experience that I must allow to travel from her body into mine. When I do, the distance between us alters. It grows smaller and strangely charged.

Tracy K. Smith, Political Poetry is Hot Again for the New York Times

Smith digs deep in her essay, pulling prose against current events like a floodlight washing over space that we typically leave in darkness: race, gender, sexuality, identity, orientation, violence. She touches on how poets today employ not just linguistic mechanisms to pull you into their verse but the modes of layout and design of the text on the page as well. The entire essay is available via the New York Times online, and worth the time to read it through.

Have you written political poetry before?

Share your political poetry work with us in the comments, or on Instagram by tagging @littleinfinitepoetry or  #poetryforlife.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

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