The New Republic has named Rupi Kaur ‘The writer of the decade.’ The Canadian poet published two books: Milk and Honey and  The Sun and her Flowers  in 2015 and 2017  respectively.

Who is Rupi Kaur?

Born in 1992, the Indian born Canadian poet and author Rupi Kaur works on Social media-centred poetry. Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey spent more than a year on The New York Times Best Seller. Milk and Honey was her debut book. She sold over 2.5 million copies of of the book. In 2017, BBC listed Kaur in BBC Women. One of the verses from Milk and Honey are as follows:

We are all born                                                                                                                                                                                        so beautiful                                                                                                                                                                                                the greatest tragedy is                                                                                                                                                                            being convinced we are not

the following verse is from from Milk and Honey too:

there is no bigger illusion in the world                                                                                                                                                 than the idea that a woman                                                                                                                                                                   will bring dishonour into a home                                                                                                                                                         if she tries to keep her heart                                                                                                                                                                  and her body safe

Some takeaways:

• Indian born Canadian poet and author Rupi Kaur works on social media-centred poetry
• The New Republic names Rupi Kaur writer of the decade. Kaur used technology as a means to present her poetry which gives her an edge
• Social media users showed mixed reactions on the news

Her second book was published in 2017, The Sun and Her Flowers is based on themes like feminism, loss, trauma, healing and migration. However, her second book received critical reviews from critics. But Kaur saw a rise in her fame through her Instagram poetry. One of her Instagram poetry posts is given below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6j2kbwhOOQ/?igshid=1m25kjmdawx8o

Read also: Why Should You Know the Pop Poet – Rupi Kaur

The Writer of The Decade

According to Rumaan Alam, a staff writer at The New Republic, “Kaur’s achievement as an artist is the extent to which her work embodies, formally, the technology that defines contemporary life: smartphones and the internet.” Kaur uses technology to present her poetry to the audience. Technology has changed literature. Kaur has used her phone and her sketches to convey her poetry. However, there are many reviewers who say that Kaur’s poetry lacks poetic form and depth.

In a 2017 piece for the Guardian, Priya Khaira-Hanks wrote, “Kaur speaks a truth that the literary establishment is unlikely to understand. To read Kaur’s success as an omen of the death of poetry would be to unfairly dismiss writing that contains bravery, beauty and wisdom.”

Rumaan also says that “I don’t know if we’ll be reading Rupi Kaur a decade or two hence, but I suspect we’ll be reading as she taught us to.”

Read Also: Female Poets Retrace Their Journeys At Hyderabad Women Writers’ Fest

Reaction to this news

One of the users tweeted “I think she deserves to be the artist of the decade.”

https://twitter.com/thomyoung17/status/1210706852780134413?s=19

Another tweeted “How is Rupi Kaur the writer of the decade all she did was to press enter after writing a sentence and called it poetry.”

how is rupi kaur the writer of the decade bro all she did was press enter after writing a sentence and called it poetry

— 𝖇𝖗𝖚𝖏𝖆 🔮 (@cherruph) December 25, 2019

Overall her winning the title got mixed reactions on social media.

Read also: Rumi: A Poet Who Saw Divinity’s Reflection In Women

Mansi is an Intern at SheThePeople.TV