suppliedWhen life seems bland, poetry has the ability to show us the beautiful truths that we learn in the relationships of our life: the beauty of love and vitality of youth. People long for connection on demand, yet it is the importance of living to the full that we should be after. Poets seem to be in tune to this idea more than most, and we need their skills and insight to learn about ourselves.
Known only by the name Atticus and by the mask he wears, this poet became renowned on Instagram. With over 473 thousand followers, Atticus has since released his book of poems, Love Her Wild, in July of 2017, available now in Chapters and on Amazon. He is in the states on a Masked Motorcycle Tour from California to New York, even dipping into Victoria, B.C. for a day. Before anyone makes assumptions about “Instagram poets,” this book has merit. These poems are the type you want to read. They are slow, romantic, and vivid with expression of life.
Love Her Wild is an aesthetically appealing experience that engages all the senses. The grey and white covers in your hands feel both smooth and matte. There are black and white pictures dispersed throughout the book. Some are of dreamy shots of landscapes or of other objects, but mostly they are comprised of girls (a topic widely prevalent in the book). The poems themselves are about feeling beyond the physical. The poems cover topics of love, dreams, desires, internal struggles, and of the adventure of living.
Pretty much all these poems do not exceed six lines, and one liners are abundant in this book. Arranged in their small stanzas on different places on the page, poems are written in a variety of fonts, in all caps, or handwriting. There are several longer poems and personally, I like these ones the best. They allow a deeper insight into Atticus’s mind and his train of thought. The other poems, while succinct in their poetical license, could easily be joined to five others to make a longer and still coherent poem. Although, the argument there is that because these poems are so short, they make readers pause and look over them again.
The book is arranged into three sections: Love, Her, and Wild. Each section have individual focus on themes. Yet they are not isolated, as all the poems flow into one another in style, tone and mood.
I don’t think just anyone could write these poems, or at least not in the style belonging to Atticus. I am still undecided on his technical use: if there is a certain rhythm to his poems or not. He is big on enjambments, which caused me to read these poems sometimes in a stilted manner, but most of the time the poetry reads smoothly down the page.
We are drawn to the culture of “smoky-smooth” aesthetic and people saying what is on their hearts. People seem to like straightforward, short and sweet, honest poetry. I admire this book mostly because of its short snippets of poetry and the infusion of black and white that creates images of these poems in your mind. I think the platform where this book originates from is interesting: a place where people can share themselves easily and hope someone feels the same. Sometimes, as Atticus says, “Poetry’s magic/is that it is found when it’s needed.”
