Rupi Kaur is a Canadian poet, illustrator, photographer, and author. He is known for his Instapoetry where he confronts social taboos. Her vulnerable, short but relatable verses about love, trauma, feminism and abuse have gathered a wide following. She is known for her three poetry collections Milk and Honey (2014), The Sun and Her Flowers (2017), and Home Body (2020).
Wiki/Biography
Rupi Kaur was born on Sunday, October 4, 1992 (age 31 years; in 2023) in Punjab, India. His zodiac sign is Libra. His father immigrated to Canada before his birth. He had been forced to leave India because of violent hate crimes against Sikh men. He spent his childhood with his mother and grandparents. Rupi did not meet her father until she and her mother immigrated to Canada when she was three years old.
Childhood photo of poet Rupi Kaur with her parents
His family moved for a while in search of work before settling in the Brampton neighborhood of Toronto. He had a difficult childhood. He could not speak English fluently until the age of 10. His father, who works as a truck driver, earns a few hundred ringgit a month, which is not enough to support a family of six. Growing up, he lived with his parents and three siblings in a one-room basement flat, where they all slept in the same bed. Talking about his humble background in an interview, he said,
We couldn’t afford toys growing up. My parents would take us to thrift stores, and we would buy books for a dollar each.”
Her typical Indian parents encouraged her to study science and prevented her dream of enrolling in a fashion school. However, he applied for a business program. He attended Turner Fenton High School. He went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Waterloo.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 4″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father is a truck driver. He has three brothers, two sisters and one brother. His brother’s name is Saaheb. One of her sister’s name is Prabh Kaur.
Poet Rupi Kaur with her parents
Rupi Kaur with her sister and brother
Husband & Son
He is not married.
religion
He followed the Sikh religion.
Signature/Autograph
Poet Rupi Kaur’s signature
Career
She started writing poetry in 2009. During her high school years, Kaur anonymously posted her writing. Around 2013, he began sharing his work anonymously on Tumblr before moving to Instagram in 2014, where he would upload his illustrations. The first poem she posted on Instagram was about a wife dealing with her husband’s alcoholism. In 2014, she self-published her first poetry collection Milk and Honey through Amazon’s CreateSpace platform. In March 2015, Kaur posted a series of photos to Instagram as part of her university photography project. The pictures show her from behind, lying on her side, with menstrual blood running through the crotch of her sweatpants and dirt on the sheets. She aims to challenge societal taboos on menstruation and the objectification of women.
Instagram removed the image due to censorship following her posting a viral critique on Facebook and Tumblr. He wrote,
Their patriarchy is leaking. Hatred of their women leaked out. We will not be censored.
Later, Instagram backtracked saying that the photo had been “removed by mistake.” This incident led to increased recognition of Kaur’s poetry, gaining huge popularity for Milk and Honey (2014). It was later reprinted by publisher Andrews McMeel and saw widespread commercial success. The book’s themes center on survival, feminism, relationships, the immigrant experience and overcoming sexual trauma. The book sold two million copies in 25 languages and was on The New York Times Best Seller list for over a year (77 weeks).
Cover of Rupi Kaur’s first poetry collection, Susu dan Madu (2014)
After self-publishing her first poetry collection, Milk and Honey, Kaur signed a two-book deal with Simon and Schuster. Her second collection The Sun and Her Flowers was published in 2017. The book is divided into 7 parts depicting the life cycle of flowers and it focuses on themes of love and loss, trauma and abuse, healing, femininity and the body. The book ranked second on Amazon’s bestseller list a week after its release. Within the first two weeks of publication, it was among the top ten on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Cover of Rupi Kaur’s second collection, The Sun and Her Flowers (2017)
She published her third collection, Home Body, in 2020. The collection featured illustrations from Kaur and became one of the best-selling books of 2020.
Cover of Rupi Kaur’s third collection, Home Body (2020)
In 2021, she self-produced Rupi Kaur Live, a first-of-its-kind poetry special on Amazon Prime Video.
Facts/Trivia
- He is good at playing the harmonium and singing. He performed kirtan for about seven years. He used to perform on stage at various religious events.
- In an interview, Rupi shared that her father used to write a Punjabi poem for her mother in a letter when she was living in Japan right after their marriage. His mother used to practice painting.
- He was officially inducted into The City of Brampton’s Arts Walk of Fame. Her induction ceremony was held in conjunction with the celebration of Sikh Heritage Month in April 2018. During the ceremony, she performed a selection of poems from her second collection, The Sun and Her Flowers, at The Rose Theatre.
- She used the stage name “Kaur” because it is a common last name for all Sikh women and symbolizes the abolition of the caste system in India. He believed it would empower a Sikh girl to find her last name in a bookstore.
- His favorite poet is Bulleh Shah.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
