omg going on your notes app in broad daylight to look at your grocery list and finding the most depressing note/poetry you wrote when you were down bad and cringing at yourself, is definitely a universal experience 😭

as the water in my hair changed to sweat on my brow i realized i couldn’t hear him anymore - don’t dry your hair while watching youtube

After reading the comments: Now I need a video of Jack judging OUR shitty notes poetry 😭💀

every time i have to hear jack speak in cursive voice i lose five years off my lifespan and suffer from significant hair loss. it’s iconic

You Are so articulate The words Your vibes Are immaculate 🙃

"You were raised by Tumblr and are now in therapy" I've never felt more called out in my life 🤣🤣🤣

if jack was my professor i would never miss a class cuz THIS MAN CAN TEACH

My favorite one of these poems (which yes is making fun of rupi kaur) is this: Was my heart just cartilage -- and you, a piercing gun at claire's? Makes me laugh every single time

ok why are these unpublished poetry examples better than most published notes app poetry pieces 😂😂😂

It's really easy to just shit on this kind of poetry, and I really appreciate Jack's empathy and curiosity towards it. This is a great exploration of it, and you should be proud!

Every time i pick up one of these poetry books I'm reminded of 13 year old me thinking i was angsty. My diary was full of shitty poetry about how the world didn't understand me or my crush didn't like me.

You have inspired me to write my own cringeworthy poetry in the middle of the night, thanks

as someone who writes poetry, i'm grateful that you brought attention to the fact that if people can relate to the words written, if in some shape or form they found it reassuring, less lonely and positive towards their mental health - then people should just be allowed to write on a vulnerable level without fearing criticism. having said that, i do agree that once your work is published or you're building a platform around it - you should be accepting and open to criticism to improve your craft further. anyways great video as always ✨

Some of rupi kaurs poems will forever have a place in my heart, as some of them deal with csa or sa. I found her books while I came to terms with the fact that I experienced that and reading someone else's words, thoughts and feelings regarding that topic, while not knowing or understanding mine, helped. After reading one of her books, I think it actually was milk and honey, I started to open up about my own story. So I will forever be thankful for finding her work at that time and for it being so accessible

English is my second language, and normal traditional poetry is so hard for me to read and understand (unlike poetry in my own language), so this type of poetry is easier for me to digest and connect with. It’s always nice to hear you discuss a topic without judging people for liking it

stop this 😭 you literally described my notes app poems perfectly i’m so embarrassed i can’t write poetry for my life

M a n g o e s 😔🤌

as someone who writes poetry where rhyme and meter are very crucial and takes a long time to make it cohesive, i can understand it gets frustrating when what looks like a monologue with line breaks gets more recognition, but in the end expression is unique, and poetry can take many meanings.

This man really managed to give an in-depth, incredibly interesting lecture on the most (stupidly) dramatic form of poetry 😭 we need more of jack teaching, this was amazing!

I love notes app poetry, the common man’s art

dakota warren did a (now deleted i think) video on _this_ type of poetry and she made some incredible points too because she is incredible ! it's a shame she deleted it, i remember the comments were criticising the video for dismissing "art" but i think she was completely right. hope jack's video gets better reception, jack and dakota fans rise up ‼️

i was watching this thinking "omg does MY poetry sound like this??" and now im overanalyzing everything ive ever written. maybe its a sign lmao

The tumblr poems being in the same font too got me thinking, would we read these with the same weight as if it was written in comic sans for example? Or word art? Imagine Shakespeare’s poetry in word art 😂

We need you to make more poetry analysis and improving tiktok poetry content !! I love what you did at 14:40 :)

As a note app poet, myself!! The parodies are funny!! some hurt my feelings lowkey but damn I just like the "pretentious" air of poetry.

I have never liked rupi Kaur's poetry but was willing to be open ab its worth and importance to people and then I saw the clip of her reading it aloud and almost spat my tea

The notes app “poem” on the thumbnail is the icing on the cake lol. Some really decent poets by the way (in my opinion): 1. Ilya Kaminsky, “Deaf Republic” 2. Warsan Shire, “Teaching my Mother how to give birth.” She worked on Lemonade with Beyoncé, so you know she’s good. 3. ANY Mary Oliver. I have never liked nature poetry until reading hers. 4. Margaret Atwood has some pretty decent poems 5. Any June Jordan 6. Any Langston Hughes 7. Allen Ginsberg if you like weird-drug fueled poetry. He has some decent, more coherent ones though, or at least ones worth learning about. 8. Maggie Smith Edit: 9. Carol Ann Duffy 10. Louise Glück 12. Richard Siken of course! His first collection ‘Crush’ has been used to death for fan edits/fiction, but outside of that it’s a really fantastic piece of work. 13. Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath are worth learning about. There’s a reading of his poem, “Love song” done by Cillian Murphy that absolutely makes me swoon. Listen to it alone though….😬 There are many, many more! But these are some of my favorites and they are not tumblr poems 😂 take it with a grain of salt though.

that poetry voice you put on made me absolutely laugh out loud thank you xxx

jack reading his own notes app poetry and explaining the tought process behind it really made me wanna hug him 🫂

As a notes app "poet" it hits the mark😂. But really, writing in notes app doesn't mean necessarily that your writing is bad. It's not a category or classification. A poem/prose can just be as meaningful with or without having big words. Written on notes app or written on paper. It's the thought and feeling that matters!❤

Meanwhile, in my notes app: - list of possible Christmas gifts - shopping list - food orders - packing lists - itineraries - e-mail drafts - calculations - party menues - to do lists - guest lists - lists of questions for specific meetings ...

Jack Edwards was an aesthetic tumblr girlie confirmed.

Agreed! I'm guilty of purchasing one of these poems books during a hard phase of my life. It helped me gather the courage to move forward and strive for better. Reading it again, I can totally see why it's not a literary masterpiece and I'm a bit embarrassed. Sometimes, it screams teenager angst and unrefined poetry. However, I'm glad I bought it, it gave me the words I needed during this period of time when I wasn't ready to talk to others.

lol as someone who still uses tumblr (surprise! we’re still here) i can say the main themes have definitely moved on to icarus, cannibalism, holiness, pomegranates, etc. yea the hands and heart are still there though

Sharing my favorite notes app poem here!! “they did not tell me it would hurt like this no one warned me about the heartbreak we experience with friends where are the albums i thought there were no songs sung for it i could not find the ballads or read the books dedicated to writing the grief we fall into when friends leave it is the type of heartache that does not hit you like a tsunami it is a slow cancer the kind that does not show up for months has no visible signs is an ache here a headache there but manageable cancer or tsunami it all ends the same a friend or a lover a loss is a loss is a loss -the underrated heartache” Rupi Kaur

Even though I don’t post or publish my poetry, I’ve always critiqued and downplayed it because some of it is written similarly to this “notes app” style and there is a world of hate and mockery surrounding it online. thank you for talking about it in a way that doesn’t invalidate or put down people who write, enjoy, and resonate with poems like these ❤️

no but fr as an MFA student and published poet… most people don’t know what GOOD poetry is, and have only read classics and instagram poetry, and that’s why people think it’s sappy and cringe. I’d recommend Chen Chen, Lorna Crozier, Franny Choi, and Billy-Rae Belcourt for people looking to get into contemporary poetry!

Jack in his consistent era, we love a prolific booktube king!

I thought Jack was going to say "If you were raised on tumblr you are entitled to financial compensation."

This is such a refreshing take on notes app poetry and authors like Rupi Kaur. For various reasons I could write an essay and not a youtube comment on, I used to severely discredit poetry despite being an avid reader. After reading Milk and Honey, my perspective on it completely changed, I started to love poetry and get into it myself. Would I like Kaur’s work to the same extent now as I did then? Probably not. But notes app poetry is still a gateway for so many people, and shouldn’t be disregarded as often as I see online.

We need more content like this Jack! You're amazing at dissecting topics for discussions.

you really called me out with the notes app poetry since i write all my poetry in my notes app before i write it down on paper or my laptop 😂😂 but (i hope) that my notes app poetry isnt as bad as that notes app poetry

this is so random but you should definitely do “analysing literary references in A series of unfortunate events” It’s such an interesting show and every episode is packed with references to classic authors or books!!!

When I was like 14 or 15 I was so down bad for my friend that when I found out he liked another girl and was going on a date with her, I wrote a whole SONG in my journal about how I should’ve shown I liked him sooner. Needless to say I have since then crumpled those pages up and DESTROYED them so no one would ever see it

For ages I didn’t think of these as real poems, then I read a rupi kaur and found myself with tears in my eyes

Okay it’s sooooo funny that you just posted this bc I watched your “guessing the Booker prize winner” video last night and you were like gagging over that one page of The Bee Sting where it’s like “love. we do this for love” or whatever it was and my immediate thought was like “that rupi kaur ass instagram story ass line” and like I’m sure in context it hit but out of context it was so cheesy so it’s just funny to me that now you’re making this video 😭😭😭

it's really awesome that jack really dove deep into this area of culture, inside of immediately bashing it the way I have seen so many other creators do. it really shows how he wants to find the good in all art, because there is something to be learned from it!

this needs to be much longer. i wish you spoke about poetry more.

I bawled my eyes out reading milk and honey, im not ashamed, was it simple? Yes, could a thousand other people do it? Yes, but they didn't, and a poem that puts your feelings into words?!?! I don't care about the technicalities of it.

For poetry lovers there is a podcast called On being and they have audio recordings of poets reading their poems it’s incredible

Excellent video Jack! You did this without making people who enjoy notes app poetry feel like they're not smart enough. There is something out there for everyone in the poetry world, just let people like what they like. That goes for music, books and movies too... I'm particularly sore 🤣after having two lads at the weekend think it was hilarious when I said La La Land was my favourite movie, I related hard to that ending, so it's everything to me. Different strokes, for different folks.

Rupi's work and these Notes App poems are very spoken word. Reminds me of Def Poetry Jam from the 90s. Some are great and some are cheesy.

I would absolutely buy a poetry book from you! 😂 I feel like you have such a good sense of humor and to read you narrating your life on a light hearted and deeper scale would be so fun and relatable. Loved this video ❤ and completely agree on your summary!

“Ever been so down bad for someone they have you in your notes app” I once wrote a dissertation length note about a situationship basically telling the whole story and I’d update it every time something happened for well over a year, for it to just end. Great use of my time👍🏼

It’s interesting to see the slight differences between how you described Milk in Honey in the past on your blog to now. You can see how as a reader you have evolved

Roughest Drafts did a video with the same subject a couple months ago, which is like a good companion piece to this because he talks a little more about the history of it in terms of publishing and the wider impact and Rupi's other work.

Genuinely love your video essays! I love how you can put on the critical lit studies hat without being really negative. Your videos always make me think, but they never stress me out, you seem so kind!

I read a poem at an open mic yesterday for the first time in front of all my professors and classmates and MA students too … literally started like this “I started to write this poem on my notes app when I couldn’t sleep…” god now I’m 1 minute into this video and embarrassed af Edit I watched a bit further and although I draft a lot of my poems on my phone, this doesn’t seem to describe me 😎❤

You truly truly truly remind me of my AP Literature teacher in HS 🤣🤣. The way you did the poem and switching out is what he would do with my writing and tell me to go "deeper" or "more in depth". I would definitely take your class if I was back in school

Jack’s giving lecturers’ TA here (and I’m so here for it)

13:47 omg I love that your english lit side came out, I love these corrections

you are most definitely not alone in this experience, i write poetry for all my crushes, there aren't a lot of them so it's very intense, either way it is a shock when i randomly open the app for some other work.

the first notes app poem I wrote was literally about two toothbrushes! I’m feeling incredibly called out…

the way you’ve managed to describe my own thoughts on this perfectly!!! you’ve managed to address this with such empathy and thoughtfulness 🫶

notes app poetry is not inherently bad but i think a lot of times it is used to reduce the effort that writing good poetry takes - so with this i mean a lot of this type of poetry is bad because the author uses it as a way to write quicker instead of using it because the format actually adds something to what they have to say

This is SUCH a cool video, love how Jack's putting his degree to good use!

i literally was rewatching jacks video on tier ranking celeb poetry, opened my subscription box, and saw this video. Perfection.

I really liked this topic! I'm probably the only English major alive who really doesn't like poetry, so I typically enjoy "notes app poetry" and the like. Poetry is just one of the few things I don't really love to analyze. Ig I'm just not a very feelings-y type of person, which is what I typically think poetry is about. Anyways, I've always said that as long as you enjoyed it or got something out of it, then the poetry did its job. I really like the accessible aspect of simple poems

honestly, I dabbled in poetry briefly a few times in the past and a lot of it felt like this. I think its a sign of someone who doesn't have a ton of experience in the medium, but if it gets you into it I think it's a good thing. I didn't stick with poetry but learning about it definitely made me a better writer, I think.

thank you for giving tik tok slides their flowers!! i have read some really beautiful writing on there

As someone who has studied yeats and Eliot when you were describing the features of notes app poetry all I could think was they are the notes app poets of their day to some extent

Jack I thought that toothbrush poem was really good genuinely I was moved ♥️

IVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED TO WATCH A VIDEOOOO!!!! Jack ily

I would love to hear more of your notes app poetry!!

How to help people love poetry- good work Jack!

honestly jack i commend you for being brave enough to critique, albeit poignantly and not snobbishly, this phenomenon in the publishing industry which i have found interesting for a while as well

Jack you've done it again; constantly raising the bar for us all, and doing it effortlessly.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE TYPE OF CONTENTS

Finally❤❤❤ i always wanted to hear jack's opinion about theses kind of poetry

English writing is so different than Arabic writing. In Arabic we celebrate “wordy” writing. To us it is more beautiful and poetic. English tho is preferred to be precise and use as few words as possible. My professor says it is because of the difference in sentence structure. The way English is structured makes the writer lose their reader when sentences are wordy.

Love your refreshing attitude towards this. I feel like some of the hatred to this style of poetry stems from people wanting to feel superior by only putting value in classical literature

I almost died reading my old note app poetry i wrote few years back now that i am about to publish them. I sent it to the editors and mind you i blush twice a day knowing the editors will be cringing.

Really loved the video and your point!! just here to say that your mosquito poem puts word on exactly what i'm going through these days so thank you for sharing!

This was amazing! Please do more like this!

I think someone that can do free verse very well is wendy cope. obviously “the orange” has blown up recently but in general so many of her poems are in free verse or very simple rhyme schemes, but in my opinion I think Cope’s poems have so much more depth than notes app poems, but it can be hard to recognize because her written word is so simple, which can be what makes her poems so incredible!

with Rupi Kaur it also feels a lot more like spoken word for me. I went to one of her shows and with one of her pieces about anxiety, it felt like she was able to tell people what I was going through when I couldn't do that. I highly recommend going to her shows!

watched a video recently from the channel roughest drafts about this same topic! it's such an interesting topic to me i've loved seeing more people explore it on a deeper level

ahh loved this commentary style video!!

Jack Edwards , you make the books sound so alive and you describe them with such a passion that even the borring book of all it sounds interesting

It is interesting that poetry students are taught that poetry is making the familiar unfamiliar and vice-versa, but this poetry is keeping the familiar as familiar as possible to as wide an audiance as possible.

This inspired me to track down a poem I wrote 3 years ago that is atrocious but desperately trying to relocate Tumblr poetry and i cackled while reading it, realizing I was in fact, the stereotype. You, me. You alone hold the ability to change the way I use my senses. Cigarettes, coffee, and lack of sleep protruding from every pore in your body. Your soul is made up of fragments containing the wishes of your past-lovers. You form and craft the lenses that we look up to you with. Care and patience engraved into the glass, making the lights of night dance in heart-shaped bliss. The soft glow of my car’s dashboard reflects off the elegant shine of your skin. You are a sparkling seltzer, and I am the Diet Coke that laid flat in an abrasive yellow cup for far too long; Splashing from side to side as my poor driving abilities lead us over yet another curb. The scuffs that decorate my car would look as if an estranged dent in your figure. I collect blemishes like trading cards, hoarding them in my closet until the door no longer closes. You are the result of a perilous architect risking her career for a wondrous display. Each curve and feature, carefully crafted by the hands of our creator. Your hair was made to be confused for gold, eyes designed to hold admiration for each creature that crosses your path. Hands that contain the delicate patterns of creases that decorate your palms like a fine lace. Your arms’ are walking a tightrope between thin and regal; somehow blurring the stone set lines. You are a walking enigma my dear, half of my soul; although I am no poet.

Carl Sandburg and William Carlos Williams are great examples of how simple and short free verse is not always insipid. "The fog comes / on little cat feet. // It sits looking / over harbor and city / on silent haunches / and then moves on." I think someone unfamiliar with those poets could look at their work and see notes app poetry. "I have eaten the plums that were in the ice box and which you were probably saving for breakfast. Forgive me. They were delicious; so sweet and so cold."

the nature of the genre is that it's accessible, broadly relatable, easy to write and easy to digest. thats really what ties all the works described in the video together. so how good & literary & deep a notes app poem can be is inherently limited. As soon as you try to get specific, get creative with your language or form, or use a more complex metaphor, you lose the essential characteristics of the genre. your poem is no longer a "notes app" poem. that said i agree with the thesis of the video - even if these poems lack literary merit, there is value in accessible literature and skill in being able to write effectively to such a broad audience. it's the pop music of poetry - and lots of pop music is very good!

Tier ranking celebrity poetry part 2 PLEASE!

omfg the cursive reading about the mangoes got me good

oh i love this so much

This was such a great video!

“the most depressing thing u ever read…and you wrote it!!” hahahh oof yeah that’s deff relatable 😅

love u sm

What a masterpiece this video is!!! ❤