“I went from girl to woman through milk and honey. Then, writing became a very scary and triggering thing. I couldn’t walk into bookstores. I didn’t want to hear the word poetry — and home body was me trying to write the book I needed to write, because the sun and her flowers was the book that I thought the world wanted me to write.”
-Rupi Kaur, episode 271 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Today, in honor of National Poetry Month, we’re returning to our conversation with Rupi Kaur. Her debut collection, milk and honey, turns 10 this year.
At the top of our conversation, Kaur reflects on her international tour (4:44), her childhood in Canada (13:05), how she processes trauma through writing (22:13), her college photo series on menstruation that went viral (23:33), and the self-published poetry collection (milk and honey) that followed (29:20). In the aftermath of this unexpected attention, Rupi speaks candidly on the emotional toll of the last decade (30:43) and how she reckons with her critics today (32:35), before reading a poem written in response to their harassment (41:09).
On the back-half, Rupi describes her powerful connection to her heritage (42:41), understanding her mother’s sacrifices (43:15), which she recounts in Broken English (45:52), and the ways in which her work has evolved (54:08). To close, she performs two personal pieces from home body (56:17) and shares why she’s ready to get back on the stage, doing what she loves to do (58:43).
For questions, comments, or to join our mailing list, reach me at sf@talkeasypod.com.
Show-notes:
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- Pre-order the 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of milk and honey.
- Find all of Rupi’s books: milk and honey, the sun and her flowers, home body, and Healing Through Words.
- Learn more about her work on her website.
- Follow Rupi on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
- For more conversations, hear our talks with Ocean Vuong, Jhumpa Lahiri, Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, and George Saunders.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
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Illustrations by: Krishna Shenoi.
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