Welham Girls' School

“She was afraid of heights

but she was

much more afraid

of never flying.”

You may not know the writer of the quote given above, but we are sure that you must have related to it in an instant. Isn’t it fascinating how the words of this anonymous poet made you feel like they were written just for you? Well, we are here to tell you that it’s not only you who feels this way, dear reader, but everyone acquainted with this mysterious poet’s work can see themselves in it, and what they see is an enigmatic, marginally enhanced version of themselves. 

It is works like these that connect people from all corners of the world, and that is the beauty of the poet we all know as Atticus. 

From the little we know of him, Atticus is an anonymous Canadian poet who posts beautiful epigrams and aphorisms on Instagram. He was first exposed to poetry through the short quotes written beneath posters hung by his mother. His curiosity kept flourishing, until one day, a mesmerising sight in the streets of Paris influenced him to begin writing on the notes app of his phone. (For all the people who never explored their notion of writing, you can begin anywhere- even if it’s on the notes app on your phone, after all so did Atticus!)

It is no surprise that Atticus has captivated the entire world.  He writes with an overwhelming sense of purity, courage, optimism, strength, beauty and love. But what sets him apart from the rest is his ability to convey a multitude of emotions in the shortest of phrases. His work is succinct, which makes you feel profound, and stirs your soul. Furthermore, one does not need an extensive vocabulary to comprehend his writing, which makes it even more appealing to today’s generation. You might think of Atticus’ poetry as the kind that you read inside a greeting card rather than a novel from the library. However, it is this simplicity which fosters people's love for Atticus.

Now you might ask- why would such a prolific poet, with an Instagram following of 1.6 million, not want to bring a face to this fame? Well, a simple answer to your question is that he decided to maintain his anonymity for the sake of his poetry. In an interview, he said- “The main reason I wear a mask is to remind myself to always write what I feel, instead of what I think I should feel.”

Atticus is inspired to write from a place of vulnerability and liberation by maintaining his pseudonym. A great writer is believed to be able to experience a myriad of emotions and don a trinity of hats while still being able to write what he truly feels. And all these qualities can be found in Atticus.

People say the best way to escape time is to read, and as the writers of this article (who just scrolled through Atticus’ entire Instagram page) we would just like to say that there is no better way to escape reality than to lie down and read the works of the one of our generation’s most famous poets- Atticus.

Naija Mehra and Arushree Kashyap

Class 11