Are you seeking inspiration for your next social media post? Have you admired someone’s Instagram page and wanted to DM them about working together? Collaboration is a creative way for poets to grow their audience while integrating poetry into other art forms. Poets like Atticus create sensual, lyric videos, while others combine poetry and art or photography. Many poets even mix with musicians to fuse spoken word and performance.
The possibilities are endless when you ask one of your followers to collaborate. The worst that can happen is the person says no or ignores you, but the best that can happen is you create a masterpiece. In Metaphysics Book VIII, Aristotle wrote that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and I couldn’t agree more. Collaboration is a fun way to create while using your strengths and opening opportunities to learn new things hands-on. This creative work can turn your weaknesses into strengths as you design an art piece that wouldn’t have been possible without another person.
Here are five ways to collaborate with other artists—and even other poets—to create something beautiful.
Collaborate With a Filmmaker
I love writing poetry, and I am often inspired, so posting my poems on Instagram comes naturally, but I didn’t study videography in school, so I collaborated with a filmmaker and we made this video using two of my fictional poems. Not only was this fulfilling, but it was also exciting to see my words and characters come to life. You don’t need to be in Hollywood to create a short film.
There are many videographers on Instagram waiting to work with talented writers. Poet Christopher Poindexter united with @directedbystro for this short video that featured him on his typewriter. If you need more inspiration for videos with a lyrical style, just check out French New Wave filmmaker Godard: He created one of the most beautiful pieces of poetry and video I’ve ever seen.
Collaborate with a Photographer
Many photographers are looking for inspirational words to accompany their beautiful work. Reach out to a talented photographer, and with their permission, you can easily use the Canva app to add your words to an image you want to publish. What’s great about Canva is that they have the Instagram aspect ratios for stories and posts already preformatted, so you don’t have to be a whiz at Photoshop to create Insta-worthy imagery.
Some poets travel so much that documenting their experiences through pictures is a natural part of their creative process. Allie Michelle combines movement, dance, voiceover, and natural imagery to create stunning photos and videos that stay true to her voice. That’s the wonder of collaboration: you never know what adventure it will bring.
Collaborate Using Instagram Live
Interviewing someone is a great way to collaborate. You can even become friends as you get to know another artist. A few weeks ago, I was part of the audience for an Instagram Live hourlong meeting between r.cliftpoetry and courtneyphillipsstorytelling. Both of them were releasing new books, and I could feel the positive energy of support and encouragement permeating through the cellphone screen while I watched them talk as if they were sisters.
Collaborate by Translating
The work of the translator is underappreciated but absolutely necessary. If it wasn’t for translations, we couldn’t value the words of classic poets such as Basho, Sappho, Dante, and Rumi. Have you ever wondered about the sound of your words in Portuguese? Instagram is an international platform, so there is definitely someone following you from a foreign country who would probably love to translate your work.
Collaborate with an Artist
The easiest way to collaborate is by sharing an original post. Astrologer Jill Wintersteen writes inspirational quotes and posts photos of new age artists and tags them in the description box. These artists are already creating these paintings: Their relationship is symbiotic. She provides the astrological insight, and they provide the image to enhance the words.
Collaboration rather than competition is one of the best ways to use Instagram. Modernizing poetry by combining it with other art forms makes it more accessible to audiences that are already used to watching videos on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. There are so many beautiful artists waiting to meet you to create something the world has yet to see.
