Listen to Rupi Kaur at Sydney Writers Festival

Toronto based Punjabi writer Rupi Kaur, writer, artist and spoken word performer, is on her way to Sydney as a  guest of the Sydney Writer’s Festival being held from today May 22 – May 28, 2017. Rupi writes simple yet poignant poems and shares her work on instapoet with a following of close to a million followers.

In 2015  Rupi’s poetry collection   ‘Milk and Honey’ was published and became a best seller with  over a million copies sold. Her poetry is simple yet  intense, her observation acute as she draws experiences she hears from people around her.  Her words express pain, hurt and at times are also words that are thoughtful, that heal and are cathartic taking one to a deeper self.

A young woman growing up in Canada, Rupi’s poems touch femininity and taboos around abuse and female menstruation. Rupi’s picture was banned by Instagram when she posted a shot of herself wearing pyjamas that carried a mensrual blood  stain which she had posted as part of an art project. The photo became viral and got over 4 million hits.

Rupi will be appearing  at SWF in the following events:

• THE BEST OF THE FESTIVAL: POETRY AND PERFORMANCE
• EXPRESSING HERSELF: THE BRILLIANT LIFE OF RUPI KAUR
• VIRAL AND VERSE: HERA LINDSAY BIRD AND RUPI KAUR
• SEX, BLOOD AND DEATH
• TOUGH LOVE: WRITING COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS

Rupi’s poems:

I didn’t leave because i stopped

loving you i left cause the

longer i stayed the less

i loved myself

 

…

 

 

 

it felt like you threw me

so far from myself

i’ve been trying to

find my way back

ever since

…….

I want to apologise to all the women

i have called pretty

before  i’ve called them intelligent or brave,

i am sorry i made it sound as though

something as simple as what you’re born with

is he most you have to be proud of

when your spirit has crushed mountains

from now on i will say like, you are resilient

or, you are extraordinary

not because i don’t think you’re pretty

but because you are so much more than that

…….

you treat them as if

they have a heart like yours

but not everyone can be

as soft and as tender as you

you don’t see

the person they are

you see the person

they have the potential to be

you give and give till

they have taken everything

out of you and leave

you empty

 

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