the modern-day poet: speaking light into a darkened world

In an age marked by rapid technological change, global unrest, and a persistent ache for meaning, the voice of the poet feels more urgent than ever. We live in a time where artificial intelligence writes headlines, climate disasters displace millions, and war is no longer history; it is livestreamed. Amongst all of this, the poet does what they have always done: hold a mirror to the world, and ask us to look deeper.

But today’s poets are not confined to dusty pages or ivory towers. They are spoken word artists, activists, musicians, coders, refugees, teachers, and digital visionaries. They write in protest and in prayer. They use Instagram, TikTok, and the stage. They carry forward the legacy of the past while building something radically new.

A Society in Flux

The 21st century has cracked open our sense of stability. Wars persist in Ukraine and Gaza, and far beyond. Inequality deepens. We scroll past tragedy, numbed by its frequency. And now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, we’re forced to reckon with what it means to be human.

Poets are uniquely positioned in this moment. While society chases speed and productivity, poetry demands presence. It resists commodification. A poem slows us down, in a rushed, uniquely poised world, where a new revolution looms, poetry invites us to feel, and dares us to imagine something better.

Looking Back to Look Forward

History is rich with poets who shaped revolutions and healing alike. Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Audre Lorde, Mahmoud Darwish, and Anna Akhmatova didn’t just write their verses; they wrote resistance. They gave voice to the silenced, dignity to the oppressed, and fire to those yearning for change.

Langston Hughes (1902–1967)

Country: United States
Movement: Harlem Renaissance

Themes: Racial justice, Black identity, the everyday life of African Americans, and hope
Key Poem: “Let America Be America Again”

“Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— / Let it be that great strong land of love…”

Langston Hughes wrote with a jazz-influenced rhythm and used accessible language to articulate the Black experience in America. His poetry was both deeply personal and overtly political, giving voice to a marginalised community in a segregated nation.

Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)

Country: Chile
Movement: Latin American Modernism

Themes: Love, political struggle, revolution, working-class life
Key Poem: “The Heights of Macchu Picchu”

“Arise to birth with me, my brother. / Give me your hand out of the depths…”

Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971. While famous for his passionate love poems, his political poetry, particularly works like Canto General, positioned him as a voice for the oppressed across Latin America.

Audre Lorde (1934–1992)

Country: United States
Movement: Black feminism, intersectionality, civil rights

Themes: Identity, feminism, race, lesbian visibility, survival
Key Poem: “A Litany for Survival”

“…and when we speak we are afraid / our words will not be heard / nor welcomed / but when we are silent / we are still afraid. / So it is better to speak.”

Audre Lorde described herself as a “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Her poetry and essays challenged the status quo and became foundational texts in feminist and queer literary movements.

Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008)

Country: Palestine
Movement: Resistance literature

Themes: Exile, identity, homeland, memory
Key Poem: “Identity Card”

“Write down! / I am an Arab…”

Mahmoud Darwish is considered the national poet of Palestine. His work documents the pain of displacement and the longing for return. Through lyrical verse, he transformed political struggle into universally resonant poetry.

Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966)

Country: Russia
Movement: Acmeism

Themes: Loss, repression, history, resilience
Key Poem: “Requiem”

“No, not under the vault of alien skies, / And not under the shelter of alien wings— / I was with my people then, / There, where my people, unfortunately, were.”

Anna Akhmatova lived through some of the darkest periods of Russian history, including Stalinist purges. Requiem, written in secret, chronicles the suffering of those imprisoned and silenced. Her work endures as a testament to dignity under oppression.

FURTHER READING:

Langston Hughes (1902–1967)

A central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes’s poetry captures the joys and hardships of working-class Black lives.

  • Biography and Works:
    Explore Hughes’s life and a selection of his poems at the Poetry Foundation:
    The Poetry Foundation
  • In-Depth Analysis:
    An article delving into Hughes’s poetic style and themes:
    The Poetry Foundation

Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)

A Nobel Laureate, Neruda’s poetry spans themes from love to political struggle.

  • Biography and Works:
    Discover Neruda’s poetic journey and selected works:
    The Poetry Foundation
  • Political Context:
    An article discussing Neruda’s political activism and its impact on his poetry:
    The Poetry Foundation

Audre Lorde (1934–1992)

A self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” Lorde’s work confronts injustices of racism, sexism, and homophobia. The Poetry Foundation

Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008)

Often regarded as Palestine’s national poet, Darwish’s work reflects themes of exile and identity.

Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966)

One of Russia’s greatest poets, Akhmatova’s work delves into themes of love, loss, and political repression.

The Poetry Foundation

Today, their echoes remain. But we also ask: where do we go from here?

Who Are Today’s Poets of Change?

Warsan Shire

The Somali-British poet gave language to the refugee crisis:

“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.”
Her work cuts through policy and headlines, going straight to the heart of human displacement and longing.

Amanda Gorman

At just 22, she stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and reminded the world that poetry still holds political power. In “The Hill We Climb”, she declared:

“For there is always light / if only we’re brave enough to see it / if only we’re brave enough to be it.”

Ocean Vuong

In poems and prose, Vuong writes about war, queerness, migration, and the tenderness of survival. His language is fragile and ferocious, a mirror for those born in the aftermath of violence.

FURTHER READING:

WARSAN SHIRE

Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman is an American poet and activist who gained international acclaim after delivering her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese-American poet and novelist whose work delves into themes of identity, loss, and the immigrant experience.

Rupi Kaur, Nayyirah Waheed, and Instagram Poets

While often debated by traditionalists, these poets have opened poetry to millions, especially young people and women of colour. Their work is accessible, raw, and deeply personal. Poetry used to be bound between the covers of books, guarded by gatekeepers, and mostly confined to the academy or the elite. But in the last decade, a quiet revolution has taken place. Poetry has gone digital, bite-sized, visual, and unapologetically raw. And at the heart of this movement stands figures like Rupi Kaur and Nayyirah Waheed, whose words have reached millions through social media platforms like Instagram.

This isn’t just a shift in format. It’s a redefinition of what poetry can be, what it can achieve and who gets to write it.

Rupi Kaur: A Voice for a New Generation

Rupi Kaur is perhaps the most recognisable name in the Instagram poetry movement. Born in India and raised in Canada, she rose to fame with her debut collection, milk and honey (2014), which she initially self-published before it was picked up by a major publisher. Her poetry, often written in all lowercase and accompanied by minimalistic line drawings, touches on themes of love, trauma, healing, femininity, and migration.

“if you were born with the weakness to fall / you were born with the strength to rise.”
— milk and honey

Kaur’s style is intentionally simple and emotionally direct. For many readers, especially young women and immigrants, her work offers a sense of solidarity and self-recognition. Her poems are meant to be felt rather than analysed, often delivered in a tone that feels like a friend speaking truth over tea.

Critics, however, have often dismissed her work as “Instagrammable,” calling it too simplistic or lacking in depth. But Kaur’s defenders argue that her accessibility is her strength, and that dismissing her work often overlaps with dismissing the experiences of the women she writes for.

Nayyirah Waheed: The Quiet Power of Minimalism

Nayyirah Waheed is more elusive, rarely seen in public, offering no live readings, and keeping her social media presence sparse. Yet her books, salt. and nejma, have become cult classics in digital poetry spaces.

Waheed’s poetry is even more minimalist than Kaur’s. Some of her poems are just a few words long, and yet they carry the weight of a hundred pages.

“you broke the ocean in / half to be here / only to meet nothing that wants you.”
— salt.

She explores themes of diaspora, racism, self-love, and decolonisation, often speaking from and to the Black and Brown body. Her language is sparse but profound, offering emotional truths in fragments.

Waheed’s readers often describe a sense of being seen in her work. She speaks especially to those who navigate the pain and power of existing in a world that resists them. Her lack of public persona gives her writing even more intimacy and weight, it’s the words, and only the words, that matter.

Instagram Poetry: A Literary Shift or Fad?

The rise of “Instapoets” like Kaur, Waheed, and others (including Atticus, Yrsa Daley-Ward, and Nikita Gill) has sparked both a literary revival and a literary backlash.

For Some, It’s Democratisation

  • Poetry is more accessible than ever before.
  • Young readers, especially women and queer people of colour, are engaging with poetry in ways that previous generations did not.
  • These poets address real, lived experiences in digestible, emotionally resonant forms.

For Others, It’s Oversimplification

  • Critics argue that the form sacrifices complexity and craft.
  • There’s concern that virality replaces literary value.
  • Some traditional poets view this as “content,” not “art.”

But here’s the truth: Poetry has always evolved. The Romantics were once dismissed for being too emotional. The Beats were ridiculed for breaking form. Every generation has its rebels, and this generation is online, unfiltered, and powerful.

What Instagram Poetry Reveals About Our Time

In a world where attention spans are short and emotional authenticity is rare, Instagram poetry provides something immediate, visual, and felt. These poems meet readers in the scroll, in the quiet moments of anxiety, heartbreak, survival, and self-repair. They provide an instant healing response to their emotional and physical pain.

These poets speak in fragments because that’s how many of us experience the world now, fragmented, fast, and fleeting. But within those fragments are truths that linger.

Poetry, Unbound

Rupi Kaur and Nayyirah Waheed may not write for critics. They write for the reader, often a young person, from a marginalised background, often searching for words to explain what hurts and what heals.

Instagram poetry might not replace traditional forms, but it has undoubtedly opened the door to a new wave of expression, connection, and community. It’s poetry for now, and maybe, for what’s next.

AI as Poet?

A tentative step towards the birth of generative AI, we now face a provocative question: Can a machine write poetry? While AI can mimic poetic forms, it lacks the lived experience, the ache, the contradiction that breathes in a human line. Yet, in the hands of an artist, even AI can be shaped into a new kind of poetic collaboration, raising questions, not replacing souls.

Can Poetry Change the World?

No single poem will stop a war or dismantle a system. But poetry changes people, and people change the world. It makes space for empathy. It gives voice to rage and refuge. It offers clarity when language is twisted by power.

In a fragmented world, poetry reminds us that we are still connected. That words still matter. That silence can still be broken. And that, perhaps, despite everything, we are still capable of imagining a more humane future.

Conclusion: Writing Toward the Light

The modern-day poet carries a heavy torch, but also a hopeful one. They inherit the rage and beauty of those before them, and step forward into a world that needs new language, new rhythm, and new courage.

Change will not come easily. But it will come, line by line, voice by voice.

Because when everything else fails, poetry endures.

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