I've seen more and more celebrities releasing poetry collections. I've also perused several reviews of these collections on YouTube and Goodreads; as usual, honest opinion appears to fall short in some cases. Or, to the opposite effect, consistent slam reviews incorporate minimal positive highlights (or constructive criticisms); in the ones that do, they feel disingenuine. As a result, the process of choosing to purchase the poetry book by said celebrity becomes that much more difficult from my point of view.
Enter the proposed question: should "celebrity poetry" be held to a slightly higher standard?
I just completed reading Lili Reinhart's 'Swimming Lessons.' Though the book certainly wasn't perfect, I felt that the book's overarching message of romanticism of the human condition was represented well within her completed work. Like most people, I had some personal peeves while reading the collection (namely that horrible instapoetry vibe... but that is another discussion on its own). There were many missed opportunities (cliches that could have been remedied with more interest). I've also read parts of Lana Del Rey's 'Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass.' Similar interests lie here too. Don't even get me started on Rupi Kaur.
It seems that celebrities rely heavily on their massive following to pull them through the publishing grind, but let us be honest here, lousy writing is simply that bad writing. Out of the celebrities mentioned above that I've read, Lana was probably the better one. At least she used poetic devices in her work. Lili did too sometimes, but not as effective.
You would think that having a massive following would require a celebrity to hold themselves to higher standards. Yet it doesn't feel that way from what I've read. Of course, I'm not saying that all the poems in these collections are outright horrible (some more than others). Still, I've certainly felt disappointed, especially with the costs of some of these works. I mean, if I pay $17+ for a book of poems, I expect to see something worth the money.
Poetry will always be an art form that plays off the human condition. There certainly are freedoms of the art form that can be exploited with a great advantage, but there are pitfalls. So what do you all think?
Subjectivity is certainly the nature of the beast. That I have no doubt. I love your expression of poetry as a mode of free expression because it certainly is. Everyone has their own niche. Poetry isn't a right that only professional poets (those who make a living off of poetry or specialize in) have domain over. Exclusivity can be a blunt end to which to poke holes into the manifestation of poetry. My biggest beef in this conversation is how crude (or distasteful) some reviewers on YouTube can be towards these "celeb" poets.
There always seems to be this foreboding shadow above a celebrity persona. That often stems from either partly jealousy, a bad sense of judgment generally, or no real appreciation of the work. For example, take a look at some of Rachel Oats' reviews on poetry. Some of her points are solid arguments given the literature involved, but some of the remarks you can tell come from a strong sense of personal taste. At the end of the day, opinions are opinions, but there is a level of responsibility when you have many viewers, especially as an influencer.