On Trends

Did you know that fashions and trend cycles exist outside of the world of clothes and bags and shoes?!

Like, we all know that bootcut jeans go in and out of style, and that florals will be right back on all the catwalks, come Spring/Summer 2023. That’s because there’s this huge industry that exists to discuss and analyse clothing trends, in an effort to make us buy more and more clothes every year. But did you know that art, architecture, interior design, and even poetry has fashions and trend cycles? 

I know – I’m as shocked as you are!

One of the recent trends in poetry that caused me to have this very obvious epiphany was the rise of the very, very, VERY long title. You know, the poem where the title is almost an entire sentence, or the poem where the title could be mistaken for the first line, shuffled up a couple of steps and highlighted in bold? Man, I love that trend! It’s such a great idea, and it allows the writer to jump straight into the action of the poem. Yes! Love it. 

Another trend I’ve noticed recently is poets using the same title across multiple poems in a single collection. Cecilla Knapp does it in her gorgeous debut Peach Pig, and American-Iranian poet Kaveh Akbar does it in his latest collection, Pilgrim Bell. Rachel Long does it too in My Darling from the Lions*, and I’m sure lots of other writers are doing it too. Again, I think it’s a great idea – using one title multiple times to build on ideas across a book, giving the whole thing a really interesting sense of cohesion and preoccupation. Like most things, it's popular as a device because it works so well! 

A few years ago, I suddenly started hearing a lot of poems that used the line “by which I mean” to invoke this interesting, quasi-conversational tone, cleverly constructing poems with several layers that were nicely signposted by the phrase. And again, I thought to myself “This is a good idea, and that’s why people are doing it”. 

As you can see, I am not using the words “fashion” or “trends” in a pejorative sense here. I think the way a writers’ work is fed by, and feeds into the wider artform in general is cool as fuck. But I do think it negates this idea that poetry is a solitary activity based on individual genius. I think of poetry more like a conversation, or a series of conversations. And, in that respect, it makes total sense that trends might rise and fall across poetry, just as different topics or manners of speaking rise and fall among groups of friends. 

This sort of thing matters to me because I work with a lot of writers, supporting them to find space for their own poetry in an increasingly crowded market place, and it’s important to acknowledge that these trends exist. Poets who don't read or interact with other poets’ work often struggle to find their niche. Because poetry is a conversation, you need to seek out other voices and perspectives, otherwise, you’re just shouting into the dark. 

I’m not telling you to actively chase the trends in poetry in order to fit in with the “trendy London poetry elites” (who don’t actually exist anyway). But I am telling you to you need to feed your creativity a varied diet of poetry nuggets so that it will produce that lovely poetic fertilliser for your poetry fields. 

Ergh, what a horrible metaphor. Let me revise that. 

You need to feed your creativity in order for it to grow. 

Yes, that’s better. 

Anyway, it’s almost impossible to see a trend coming until some time after it’s already sauntered past you. Trend forecasting is a notoriously inexact science, so it’s a bit of a waste of time trying to predict these things. Especially in poetry, where the emphasis is on personal authenticity anyway. 

So, what should you do to avoid trends in your writing?

Mate! You shouldn’t avoid them! The whole point of writing is to experiment with ideas, take things you see, remix them, and add your own perspective. Experimentation and curiosity are the foundations of good writing, and sometimes that means you’ll inadvertently respond to a trend. But I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s just what people do. Plus, it’s much easier to indulge in poetic trends than to buy a brand-new wardrobe every six months! 

Photo via unsplash.com

*All of three of these are banging collections by the way, so you should definitely give them a read!