Rupi Kaur, born on October 4, 1992, is an esteemed poet, illustrator, photographer, and author. In 2009, she started performing poetry and gained recognition first on her Instagram platform. Her self-published debut collection “Milk and Honey” achieved commercial success. She followed this up with another collection of poetry titled “The Sun and Her Flowers” released in 2017. A third collection titled “Home Body” was released in 2020. Her poetry is known for its simplicity, touching on South Asian identity, immigration, and femininity.
Fast Facts
Full Name:
Rupi Kaur
Birth date:
October 04, 1992
Age:
31 years, 6 months
Zodiac Sign:
Libra
Height:
5' 2"
Relationship Status:
Single
Net Worth:
$1.2 million
Background
Rupi Kaur is a talented writer, poet, photographer, and illustrator. The influence of her creative work continues to impact the modern literary scene. She was born on October 4, 1992, in Punjab, India. When she was three, she and her family relocated to Canada to escape the persecution of the Sikhs. She was raised together with her three younger siblings. They later settled in Brampton, Ontario, next to a large South Asian diaspora community. Her father worked as a truck driver, while her mom stayed home to take care of them. Her father loved writing Punjabi poetry to her mother, who loved painting. They were both “creatives” at heart and that is where Kaur’s creative interest was cultivated. She started learning how to paint when she was five.Poetry, however, was what spoke to her the deepest through her faith and spirituality, and everyday life. She took part in Kirtan and Indian classical music for several years. She took up rhetoric and professional writing at the University of Waterloo. She first worked as a high school and college teacher, specializing in creative writing.In 2009, she started performing poetry on her Instagram platform. Through her three collections of poetry, she became a most sought-after “instapoet.” Her first collection “Milk and Honey” (a collection of prose and poetry about survival, released in 2014) has sold more than three million copies and has been translated into more than 35 languages. It landed at number one in the list of “The New York Times Best Sellers” for more than 100 consecutive weeks. She then followed up this best seller with “The Sun and Her Flowers” released in 2017. “Home Body,” her third collection, was published in 2020. She has also been a recipient of several accolades and awards, one of them, the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Poetry.
Career timeline
She publishes her first poetry collection “Milk and Honey” before it is reprinted by Andrews McMeel Publishing less than a year later.
She publishes “The Sun and Her Flowers,” her second poetry collection about growth and healing; it is a continuous poem comprising 250 pages.
Penguin Classics commissions her to write the introduction of the new edition of Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” one of the best-selling books of all time.
She publishes “Home Body,” which also lands at number one in “The New York Times Best Sellers” list.
She begins performing poetry as a spoken word artist on Instagram.
Rupi Kaur FAQs
Can 13-year-olds read “Milk and Honey?”
Those under 13 are advised against reading it because it explores a young woman’s experience with sexual assault and violence.
Is “Milk and Honey” a true story?
Yes, in the sense that Kaur writes about her parents who suffered persecution in India, greatly affecting them and the way she was raised.
What challenges did Rupi Kaur face?
Kaur suffered oppression and abuse when she was a child and “was silenced by the men around her.”
5 Surprising Facts
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Kaur’s writing begins with Nusrat Khan
Her writing process begins with her playing qawwali by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
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She listens to her body
The urge to write finds her when she starts feeling an apprehensiveness in the pit of her stomach.
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Poetry was her second love
When she was a young girl, she wanted to be a visual artist, considering poetry solely as a “silly” hobby she engaged in when she would write birthday cards for family and friends.
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She writes in small letters
She writes completely in lowercase because the Gurmukhi script has no lowercase and uppercase.
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She experienced depression
While trying to keep up with the success of “Milk and Honey,” she suffered from depression and endured 72-hour migraines.
Why We Love Rupi Kaur
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She is a survivor
She was bullied in school on account of her Indian background. She suffered sexual abuse by her uncle when she was a child, resulting in her lack of self-confidence. Poetry and literature were her solace, relief, and her source of joy — that is how she was able to get through those difficult days.
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She is true to herself
Although she began as a visual artist, she could not deny the influence poetry had on her. She decided to focus mainly on it. She started sharing her work on social media and in no time, she became a widely known and sought-after poet.
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She is pro-self-love
She is a firm believer in self-love and appreciation. She talks about it a lot in her poetry and emphasizes its importance. She went through self-criticism while growing up because she was “different.” She said she would not want anyone to go through that.
Rupi Kaur’s birthday dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | October 4 | Tuesday |
| 2023 | October 4 | Wednesday |
| 2024 | October 4 | Friday |
| 2025 | October 4 | Saturday |
| 2026 | October 4 | Sunday |
