Performing Persian poetics on Instagram: an interview with @barkhi_az_honarmandan

Abstract

ABSTRACT Uncensored, unlike many other social media platforms in Iran, Instagram has become the most popular social media platform among Iranians, providing a space for creative expression including the creation of Instapoetry. Here I offer an interview with the group behind the @barkhi_az_honarmandan account, an Instagram account run by anonymous admins that produces digital poetry. Since Iran and its news form the main focus of this account, the page is actively involved in creating visual poetics as a form of digital activism. In its work, @barkhi_az_honarmandan takes on a performative presence on Instagram and combines visual and literary digital art to create digital contents that reflect. It thus prompts reflections, on news and issues related to Iranian culture and society, by creating engaging digital art with a poetic style and powerful impact. This interview, prefaced with a brief description of the impact of social media visual poetry. It shows that social media and Instapoetry have become vital tools for political dissent and creative expression in Iran, allowing individuals to connect with others and engage in dialogues or political activism in Iran. In particular, the close reading of specific posts and poems by Iranian account demonstrates some of the semiotic codes of Persian language activist online poetry.