Julia Kluemper, the poet reciting on TikTok to encourage youth to read

Eighteen-year-old Spanish poet Julia Kluemper is leveraging TikTok to inspire a love of reading among young people. She recites poetry on the platform, hoping to capture the attention of a generation immersed in social media.

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It's easier for young people to hear poetry through social media and that leads them to read more than if they just listen to their parents telling them to read a book.

Kluemper, whose first poetry collection 'Cuando cesa la lluvia' was recently published, believes social media offers a more accessible entry point to poetry for youth than traditional methods. "It's easier for young people to hear poetry through social media," she told EFE, "and that leads them to read more than if they just listen to their parents telling them to read a book."

Her collection features forty-five poems in both English and Spanish, structured by the seasons. The poems explore themes relevant to youth, reflecting personal and social concerns. Kluemper, who has a mixed Spanish-American background, draws inspiration from her dual cultural experiences and her passion for literature, rhythm gymnastics, drawing, and music.

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The goal of each of these poems is to look for, among the readers, among their secrets and their fears, a small part of their heads that wants to keep reading. That they see that there is someone who understands them without trying to minimize their problems. The goal of each of these verses is that someone finds me.

Kluemper's goal is for readers to find a piece of themselves in her verses, to feel understood. She hopes her work, like that of her inspiration Mario Benedetti, will resonate deeply with young readers, helping them navigate their own feelings and fears. The publication of 'Cuando cesa la lluvia' began after Kluemper submitted poems to a contest organized by the publishing house Talón de Aquiles.

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She felt understood.