When Jac Rayner tweeted about buying toilet seats from Amazon her notifications went through the roof as she racked up thousands of likes, retweets and comments.
Among the replies was one from Joe Daniels – a guy who hopes to bring poetry to a wider audience by creating poems in response to viral social media posts.
i once bought a toilet seatone was quite enoughamazon thought it was neatto advertise the stuffif i'm not careful i will drownin toilet seats a plentymy purse will be just like my bowelsabsolutely empty#apoemforyou
— joe daniels (@poethejoet) April 6, 2018
In the past few weeks, Daniels’ poems have responded to news stories and tweets as varied as the end of the world and the vocabulary used by chefs.
time to say goodbyethere's no avoiding capturedeath is coming that's no lieget ready for the rapturethe end is coming soonin just a week or twounless this man is just a loonand none of this is true#apoemforyou
— joe daniels (@poethejoet) April 12, 2018
food is getting strangerthe definition loosestructure rearrangedand we're left with salmon mousse
deconstructed mealsare just a clever wayof making people feellike they should overpay#apoemforyou
— joe daniels (@poethejoet) April 12, 2018
The guy behind the account is 24-year-old Daniels, who lives in Sheffield and works as a head of content for a software firm.
He also runs the account A Haiku Daily which provides, unsurprisingly, a daily haiku. That’s a poem which has a set number of syllables on each of the three lines: five on the first and last lines, seven on the middle line.
He hopes to bring poetry to a wider audience via interacting with popular social media posts.
“I think it’s a shame that poetry isn’t read more widely,” he told Press Association.
“A lot of people are put off poetry because of how it’s taught in school. It’s bland and obtuse and pretty boring. But I think poetry can be fun and accessible – just look at the prevalence of rap music – that’s essentially poetry set to a beat. I want to show people that poetry isn’t just archaic language and that it can be enjoyable to read.”
careful where you standwhen you're a news reporterone second you're on the landthe next you're in the wateralas poor mike he hid it wellhe didn't curse or swearbut learn the lesson of bushellreporters be aware#apoemforyou
— joe daniels (@poethejoet) April 11, 2018
“The daily haikus came about because I liked the idea of creating something that people could almost rely on and come back to. Haikus are probably the shortest form of poetry and so they suit the likes of Twitter and Instagram really well.”
Heads down looking atPhone screens like zombies whose livesAre passing them by
— A Haiku, Daily (@ahaikudaily) April 11, 2018
Step one: write some wordsStep two: hope that they are goodStep three: followers
— A Haiku, Daily (@ahaikudaily) March 27, 2018
Writing haikus isEasier said than done butAt least they are short
— A Haiku, Daily (@ahaikudaily) March 29, 2018
Although the haikus are a daily offering Daniels prefers writing poems in responses to viral tweets, signing off his offerings with #apoemforyou.
“Originally I chose tweets at random but soon realised that it would work better and reach a wider audience if I chose tweets that were going viral – or semi-viral at least.
“I guess I look for tweets that are popular, and that cover an interesting topic. Then I’ll see if I can come up with anything.”
It seems to be working so far.
Daniels can also be found on Instagram at Poethejoet and AHaikuDaily.