Another possible influence is the prevalence of multimedia art on Tumblr,
which may encourage the appropriation of Biblical and Greek myths,
or other pre-existing elements, in St James’ work, for example his use
of the prodigal son story in ‘luminescence,’ where he links realising his
trans identity to the restoration of the younger son’s faith, suggesting
that this realisation brought him closer to God. Compared to some
poets on Tumblr, St James is fairly traditional in his form. However, the
use of lowercase letters is something he has in common with many of
these poets, and with the average text post in general, which suggests
informality and gentleness. Much of the poetry on Tumblr has the tone
of a late-night text message or Tumblr ‘vent’ post – unplanned, quietly
emotional, unassuming but intense. An example in St James’ work is
‘Trans Man Writes a Sonnet to Himself,’ in which he says, ‘i’m a man
beating / against the windowpanes of my smallness.’ The lowercase
‘i’ emphasises the ‘smallness,’ and the ampersand in line 9 (‘i let my
tongue taste the word ‘thrive’ / & knew it applied to me always’) implies
spontaneity due to its usual use as shorthand; this contrasts with the
intensity of imagery like beating against windowpanes or ‘tectonic hymns
of myself.’ This choice is obviously not unique to Tumblr (the lowercase
style is also used by Ocean Vuong, whose work St James admires, as
can be seen in his effusive tags when reblogging quotes from Vuong’s
work), but it seems remiss to ignore any possible influence of others on
Tumblr, given how widespread the phenomenon is there. Whatever the
original influence on St James was to lead him to the lowercase style,
the effect of it – the humble, soft, vulnerable tone – is suited both to the
gentle, positive personality he cultivates on Tumblr and to the audience
he has built. For example, in ‘prayer scratched into the side of a blue light
emergency phone station,’ St James writes, ‘here’s a truth i’ve never told
anyone else: in summer i ache / more than in any other season.’ A ‘truth’
he has ‘never told anyone else’ may be more at home on Tumblr than
anywhere else.
The lowercase letters are one of various traits that make Tumblr text
posts recognisable in comparison with other websites. In a video for PBS
Idea Channel, Mike Rugnetta describes how ‘the stereotypical Tumblr
text post lacks effusiveness – all lowercase, very fluid, no punctuation.
It’s like Cormac McCarthy without capital letters, and channelling some
kind of recognizable quirkiness instead of frustration at the futility of
justice in a society on the brink,’ adding that ‘Tumblr’s stereotypical text
post is hesitant, even vulnerable, on a website where many people value
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