It’s not just the Odyssey effect: poetry is booming because it’s the only language for these times of violence and chaos | Charlotte Higgins
Why This Matters
Key context: <p>From Homer’s epic to conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, we can see how poetry fills the gap when ordinary ways of writing or speaking aren’t enough</p><p></p><p>The biggest sales of poetry since records began are expected this year. The reason? The movies, of course. UK print sales of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/the-odyssey">The Odyssey</a> increased by 1,400% in the four weeks to 25 July compared with the same period last year. In the US, year-to-date sales of The Odyssey are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/03/the-odyssey-book-sales">up 76% so far</a>. Christopher Nolan is doing miracles for Homer – whatever problems one might have with the movie (and Emily Wilson, who made the most popular recent translation, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jul/27/odyssey-translator-emily-wilson-attacks-nolan-blockbuster">has a few</a>).</p><p>Strip out the Odyssey factor, though, and poetry is still doing exceptionally well, driven by writers whose work is often mildly denigrated as “Instapoetry”, such as <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/318941/lucas-jones">Lucas Jones</a>. His is a kind of versifying that delivers immediate uplifting aphorisms rather than either the kind of dense, allusive play with language that might reward repeated reading; or the sort of limpid, performable music that propels a well-translated Homeric epic. But even so, the poets of Instagram reach for something that can’t quite be expressed through everyday speech. And readers respond to it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/10/poetry-boom-language-violence-chaos-odyssey-ukraine-gaza">Continue reading...</a> This development from The Guardian highlights ongoing changes in the sector.
From Homer’s epic to conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, we can see how poetry fills the gap when ordinary ways of writing or speaking aren’t enoughThe biggest sales of poetry since records began are expected this year. The reason? The movies, of course. UK print sales of The Odyssey increased by 1,400% in the four weeks to 25 July compared with the same period last year. In the US, year-to-date sales of The Odyssey are up 76% so far. Christopher Nolan is doing miracles for Homer – whatever problems one might have with the movie (and Emily Wilson, who made the most popular recent translation, has a few).Strip out the Odyssey factor, though, and poetry is still doing exceptionally well, driven by writers whose work is often mildly denigrated as “Instapoetry”, such as Lucas Jones. His is a kind of versifying that delivers immediate uplifting aphorisms rather than either the kind of dense, allusive play with language that might reward repeated reading; or the sort of limpid, performable music that propels a well-translated Homeric epic. But even so, the poets of Instagram reach for something that can’t quite be expressed through everyday speech. And readers respond to it. Continue reading...
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