Rupi Kaur is an Indian-born Canadian poet, illustrator, and author. Kaur rose to fame on Instagram and Tumblr through sharing her short visual poetry. She received widespread popularity, after the publication of her debut book Milk and Honey, which went on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide and spent more than a year on The New York TimesBest Seller list. In 2017, Kaur released her second book, The Sun and Her Flowers, leading her to be named on the BBC's 100 Women in 2017. Her work explores relationships, the immigrant experience, and sexual trauma and is considered to be at the forefront of Instapoetry. In 2019, The New Republic named Kaur, "Writer of the Decade"
Early life
Kaur was born into a Sikh family in Punjab, India. She immigrated to Canada with her parents when she was four years old. Her father worked as a truck driver and her family eventually settled in Brampton. She was inspired by her mother to draw and paint. She continued her art into her teens, but at age seventeen, she shifted her focus to writing and performing. She attended Turner Fenton Secondary School, before studying rhetoric and professional writing at the University of Waterloo.
Career
Early work (2009 - 2013)
Kaur notes her first performance to be in the basement of the PunjabiCommunity Health Centre in Malton around 2009. Throughout her high school, Kaur shared her writing anonymously. From 2013 onward, she began sharing her work under her own name on Tumblr before taking to Instagram in 2014, in which she also started adding simple thematic illustrations.
''milk and honey'' (2014 - 2016)
Kaur's first book, an anthology titled milk and honey, was self-published on Createspace on 4 November 2014. Her inspiration for the book's name came from a past poem which included a line about women surviving terrible times. She describes the change in the women as, "smooth as milk and as thick as honey." A collection of observations, prose, and hand-drawn illustrations, the book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter depicts a different theme. In March 2015, Kaur posted a series of photographs to Instagram depicting herself with menstrual blood stains on her clothing and bed sheets. Described as a piece of visual poetry, it formed her final project for her undergraduate studies and is considered as among her more notable works; intended to challenge prevalent societal menstrual taboos. They were pulled down for not complying with the site's terms of service. Instagram brought back the images, citing a mistaken removal, and apologized to her after being criticized for displaying the very response that the works were intended to critique. The incident is credited for bringing Kaur more followers and leading to the subsequent rise in popularity of her poetry. As Kaur rose to prominence on social media, milk and honey was re-released by Andrews McMeel Publishing. Book sales of milk and honey surpassed the 2.5 million copy mark. As of June 7th 2020, the book has been listed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 165 weeks. Milk and Honey has since been translated into 25 languages. In the United Kingdom, Kaur was credited with an increase in poetry sales seen in 2017.
''The Sun and Her Flowers'' (2017 - present)
Her second book, The Sun and Her Flowers, was published on 3 October 2017. As of January 5th 2020, the book has been listed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 76 weeks. In 2019, she was commissioned by Penguin Classics to write an introduction for a new edition of Khalil Gibran's The Prophet, in anticipation of that book entering the public domain in the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaur moved back in to her parents' house in Brampton and began teaching workshops on Instagram Live.
Artistry
As in Gurmukhi script, her work is written exclusively in lowercase, using only the period as a form of punctuation. Kaur writes this way to honour her culture. She has said that she enjoys the equality of letters and that the style reflects her worldview. Her written work is meant to be an experience that is easy for the reader to follow, with simple drawings to elevate her words.
Influences
Kaur draws inspiration from Sikh scriptures. The experience of learning English upon moving to Canada has influenced her writing style. She is also influenced by her heritage. Part of her signature writing style includes a complete lack of capital letters, and the use of just one form of punctuation—the period. Both of these techniques are features of Punjabi which she has imported into her English writing as a way of connecting back to the place and culture of her origin. Poet Nayyirah Waheed has accused poet Kaur of plagiarism, a charge Kaur denies. However, Kaur has stated she takes inspiration from Waheed.
