A few staggered lines of verse and a black and white sketch: that’s all it takes for Rupi Kaur’s posts to garner tens of thousands of likes on Instagram. The 24-year-old Instapoet, who shot to fame — and the New York Times ’ Best Sellers list, staying there for 57 weeks — with her first book milk and honey , is back with her second collection of poetry. Titled the sun and her flowers (she follows a minimalist style that uses only lower case), it’s set to release worldwide on October 3.
Online introduction
How did a young Indo-Canadian girl go from posting her work on social media to selling out live poetry readings everywhere, from Canada, United States and the UK in less than 10 minutes?
“I started sharing my work online after being told by friends that my poetry should go beyond open mics. After Tumblr and YouTube, I moved to Instagram in 2013 when I started to incorporate illustrations and design elements into my work,” she says.
In 2015, she took on Instagram for removing a photo from her timeline that showed a menstrual leak; the ensuing backlash from her supporters forced the social media platform to reinstate the picture. Since then, she has accumulated over 1.5 million followers on the photo sharing site alone, a similar number on Twitter, and over 3.8 million on Facebook.
When she self-published milk and honey , Kaur said, “There was no market for poetry about trauma, abuse, loss, love and healing through the lens of a Punjabi-Sikh immigrant woman.” Even her parents and family had no idea that she was writing and sharing her work.
“It used to be terrifying! I was scared of ‘getting in trouble’ for writing about certain topics. However, I couldn't keep it a secret for much long. When milk and honey was released, my parents saw and read the book and were very proud of it, and really supportive. It’s really funny, because we don’t talk about what’s in it. You know how Indian families are,” she laughs.
Fan following
However, her short, piercing verses, have found a large millennial audience, and not just in the South Asian diaspora. On her latest work, Kaur says, “I think I explore a lot more themes in the sun and her flowers . I've expanded as a person and so has my worldview. It is a journey experienced through the life-cycle of a plant. There are five chapters: wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming. My favourite, chapter three, is about going back to the roots of your family, past generations and ancestors and migration.
As some critics have said her writing is vague enough so that a Western audience can relate to it — rendering it shallow and formulated for mass appeal. Kaur doesn’t think that’s a bad thing. “Sometimes, as a writer, you forget that people read and care, because you're so busy beating yourself up to be better. But when people stop you while you're grabbing coffee or walking down the street and they share the impact you've had, it touches you forever.”
As for Kaur’s online fame, she says it has shown her how important mental and emotional health are, and so mindfulness is a very important everyday practice for her. It has also helped her filter out the trolls and haters. “I've been practising how for the past three years! It’s important to stay grounded; it helps me remain honest in my writing. For that reason, I don’t have social media on my phone. I want to make sure that I’m not distracted by what other people think about my poetry. I want to continue challenging myself so I can achieve my own personal goals.”
susanna.lazarus@thehindu.co.in
