How Rupi Kaur started on Instagram and became a worldwide sensation.
For all you Insta-poets out there…
Rupi Kaur is one of the most famous poets in the world.
At this point, you can’t have not heard of her and her brilliantly poignant minimalist poems, but if you haven’t…
Rupi Kaur writes and illustrates poems, with 3 books currently published. ‘milk and honey’, her first book, debuted in 2015 and made №1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The huge, 40-million copy selling hit was followed with two equally remarkable books, ‘the sun and her flowers’ and most recently, ‘homebody’, both of which have their own impressive accolades.
Rupi writes about her own experiences with depression, anxiety, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, hope, death, grief, immigration, her parents and many more home-hitting topics. She doesn’t use any grammar or capitalisation in her poems, a nod to her roots and the Gurmukhi style of writing, which doesn’t have capitalisation because all letters are treated equally. A lovely sentiment, and one that gives her work a distinctive flow and feel.
Believe it or not, the world-renowned sensation started out like many of us do — on Instagram.
She began to build a following for her talent, her art, and her controversial posts, and found herself in the spotlight when Instagram removed one of her statement pieces, in which we saw Rupi lying in a bed stained in menstrual blood.
From there, her following only grew, and she knew it was time to release a collection. But an Instagram following didn’t make her fame for her — Rupi put in the work.
She self-published her first book on Amazon, believe it or not, and literally carried her book around from bookstore to bookstore, showing them her work and asking them to stock it. That takes balls, I’d say, and I really admire her dedication.
I have a shelf full of poetry — all the way from Keats and Byron to Duffy and Plath — but Rupi Kaur will, I think, forever be my favourite. She’s a lesson in resilience, in the self-belief of your art and work, and a beacon of unbridled talent.
So, there’s the secret — hard work and believing that your words are something the world needs to hear.
Only you can do that for you, and you have to trust that you are good enough to make it until you do make it. When, not if, right?
you have only scratched the surface
of what you’re capable of
there are decades
of victories ahead of you
- rupi kaur
If you’re struggling to find the ‘why’ when it feels like your work is going nowhere, read this Rupi quote and remind yourself why you write.
I also post poetry to Instagram — although, admittedly, not as often as Rupi does, but I’m working on it. If you like what you read, go ahead and follow me on there and support this artist.
Do you use Instagram to promote your poetry? If not, what’s your process? I’d love to hear from my fellow poets.
With much love, warmth and light until next time,
Rosalie
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