Forget "gateway poetry." Many readers need direct acknowledgment of what they feel, in words they understand and immediately relate to. Why can't we accept that each reader needs what he or she needs, wants what he or she wants? Poetry has never been "one size fits all." It has always been "whatever works for you." Let a million flowers bloom. I'd like to see that.
Rupi Kaur doesn't provide the kind of complex poetic experience I enjoy most, but I don't think that what she offers is worthless either. Certain writers of popular music have spoken to me in a way that moved me. Do I think that, as poems, those songs beat Shakespeare? No. But I don't want to give up the pleasures of great songs, either.
Susan
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