5.12.15

I have noticed lately that when I see poetry in the wild (as opposed to hearing it), it takes a specific form. All lower-case, bell hooks style, and in fake typewriter font. Is this the form that designates it as poetry for easy recognition? Is this cover-signalling style, like in fiction? It's very interesting, but I notice that when I see said font, I pretty much tune out. 

Tyler Kent White is an example of this. and Tyler Knott Gregson. I guess you also need 3 names and to be named Tyler, (sensing a theme here, hah hah). These writers appear to use actual typewriters for their originals, but the ones that caught my eye were definitely reproduced in "meme" format via facebook, with the typeface that comes on your PC to mimic the typewritten characters. 

I am getting bits from my searches stating the enjoyment of the noise, premeditation needed to compose, following in the footsteps of previous writers like Hunter S Thompson, E.E. Cummings, or the Beat poets; the added visual aesthetic, etc. 

I have a memory of seeing an all-female poetic performance group, perhaps as a middle-schooler. They had typewriters and bells and horns and such, and you'd pick a slip of paper with a topic, and they'd bang out a poem about it, ding some bells, and you got to keep it. Pretty interesting, but I always placed that pretty squarely in the realm of performance poetry. 

In my searches I'm having a hard time distinguishing between those who use this medium for any of the above reasons and the ones who are on the bandwagon. It's mildly amusing to see someone like this poet who publicizes his hand-typed poems via images on social media. My following question is, is poetry inherently pretentious? Are poets? How does this affect how we are seen by non-poetry people and poets alike? 

And so it's an equal-opportunity target, I write my poems longhand. Then type them so there is a copy on the cloud, in case of fire. (I don't know if that's a reasonable fear but I am afraid of it)

Thoughts on fads in writing/art/etc?