Poetry on TikTok
Two weeks ago, I didn’t have a TikTok account. Little did I know, a couple days after joining, I’d be discovering some of my new favorite voices in the online poetry space.
Nonetheless, when I started researching for this piece, my first thought was, “Poetry on TikTok, the app where paper towel brands endorse rap challenges; how many preteens waxing poetic about their nicotine addictions and animated screencaps of runner-up Milk and Honey stanzas am I about to see?”
Well, frankly, a lot.
But underneath, if you can find them, are hidden gems. A handful of people who went viral for a funny clip or a powerful statement, but whose real passion is sharing their poetry on the platform. Several people with thematic accounts that have prepared and performed a poem or two to explore their innermost feelings on their topic of choice. A probably massive subgroup of undiscovered writers, speaking into the void, waiting for their runaway piece to grow legs.
I’ve prepared a list of three of these gems, each falling into one of these categories, each of which bring a unique voice and talent to the medium. It’s important to clarify that those listed below are slam poets, not screencap posters, and I’m almost certain there is a mass of undiscovered talent in the latter category. However, TikTok is a visual-audio platform, and lends itself best to those who lean into that.
@anacristina____
Anacristina addresses relevant political issues without the dryness of your average written speech. This seems to be the mission of her account, but her poetry tackles this with such passion that her points and images come across a thousand times more genuine than someone posting a black square or holding a sign in their home office. Her powerful delivery draws in the listener and holds him there, shaking him by the shoulders. The almost-hidden literary devices that hold her pieces together give a cadence and rhythm to her words that makes them more than a rant—a call-to-arms, but beautiful and eloquent yet forcefully candid, demand for concern and action. Her TikTok houses only snippets, though her full poems are available on Instagram and Twitter.
@sophisticated.ratchet
I discovered this poet, who goes by Sophisticated Ratchet, through his popular video, “My Black Skin is Not a Weapon,” an in-your-face, inside-the-car thunderous delivery venting the frustrations and speculations that come naturally to one who wants to live unabashedly Black in modern-day United States, which for all our movements for inclusion, behest a kind of ‘whiteness’ from anyone who wants to be taken seriously and trusted. This poet is raw and forthright; his words uncontrived. My favorite works of his on TikTok are contained in The Notebook Chronicles, a series of slam poems in which he explores divorce, parenting, and other themes that feel emotionally pertinent to many contemporary listeners, but does so in such a way that relates each topic to his own experiences, fears, and weaknesses.
@fotoshoot124
Daryl Foto’s cadence and delivery are so compelling that they carry themselves. I feel as though he could read the McDonald’s menu to me and I would listen attentively, letting each value-menu-item drizzle over me like semantic syrup. My favorite work of his is “Let’s Talk About Sex.” This piece begins as a captivating seduction, but then stumbles into a debilitating fall down a dark spiral staircase, bending into themes of loneliness, bumping off walls of trauma, innocence, guilt, and self-loathing. The poet becomes an honest voice for any listener familiar with the complicated web of emotions people attach to sexual experiences throughout their lives. His book, Lessons in Chasing Paper Cuts is available on Lulu and, according to the description, its poems “serve as an embodiment of growing pains, portrayed through the lens of a black boy struggling to grow up in America.”
TikTok is a dream come true for many creatives with all kinds of talents and mediums, if the right people see your video. Like Instagram, the poetry space is crowded with journal entries from middle-schoolers and reposted quotes. But like any space, a few voices of incredible talent shine through and several more have the potential to do so. I wanted to keep this list brief, but there are several runners-up who didn’t quite make my favorites list. If that’s you, continue in your craft. If that’s not you, if you feel like no one’s watching or listening, guess what? Continue in your craft. Poetry is the mother tongue of the human heart, and speaking truth into the world from behind the gates of your soul is a noble, challenging endeavor.
Bonus: These are the poets who I discovered and love, but didn’t make it into the top three for this article.
@evelynjeans
Evelyn’s poem, “Autism Listens,” is personal, almost memoir-ish, but with a powerful relevance and resonance. She addresses not just ableist attacks and jokes, but the common and sometimes devastating consequences of sensory sensitivities.
@veanababyy
Veana’s snippets tell a story of rebirth and personal growth, from becoming the person she needed as a child, to recognizing the strengths of independence following a relationship rich in codependency and lacking in understanding. Her podcast, Veana’s Thoughts, is available on Spotify.
@suraaligolden
Sura Ali delivers powerful pieces thematically ranging from the fears of being Black in the U.S. to her own self-doubt and struggles with finding her branch in her family tree. She shines brightest when speaking in public settings, which she does often, shouting her truth into the world.