#1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, Rupi Kaur, has just released a new poetry book to die for. Her newest book, The Sun and Her Flowers, is another collection of her poems that explores the prosperity and hardships women endure during their lifetime.
Rupi Kaur is a 25 year old Canadian poet, illustrator, and performer of Indian descent who rose to fame in 2014 after self-publishing her first novel milk and honey which has sold over one million copies. Rupi was born in Punjab, India before she and her family emigrated to Canada when she was four years old. After moving to Canada and being unable to speak English, Rupi found solace and inspiration in drawing and painting. She later found her passion for writing in college and studied Rhetoric and Professional Writing at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
Not only has Rupi written about women’s issues and relationship struggles, she is a fierce defender against female objectification. In 2015, Kaur posted a photograph on Instagram of a woman in her bedsheets stained with menstrual blood. Instagram quickly removed the photo sparking outrage amongst Kaur’s fans. Kaur responded that social media should be concerning themselves with the staggering amount of pornographic and objectifying images being published, rather than furthering the mystification of the natural process of female menstruation.
The Sun and Her Flowers, like milk and honey, is a poetry anthology which consists of five chapters of poetry and illustrations with explore a variety of themes. The book reflects on the life cycle of flowers and their constant cycles of shrivel and growth. Her book plays with plant metaphors to reflect the fragility and strength found in nature and women.
Like her unabashed activism for women’s rights, her poetry is bold, direct, and compelling. Her words make no attempt to hold her opinions back about society’s state of decay. The Sun and Her Flowers is a literary expedition about life’s journey and how (just like flowers) women and relationships can wilt, rise, and blossom.
Photo via Twitter (@rupikaur_)
