Rupi Kaur ripped my heart out and put it back together

Rupi Kaur teaches us about love, friendships, migrants and not to take men’s shit in her world tour.  

I have to admit that I’ve been living under a rock. I had never heard of poet Rupi Kaur before my 77-year-old Nana invited me to go see her show in Wellington. Rupi is a Canadian poet, artist, and performer originally from India.  

When my Nana asked if I’d like to go see a poet at the Opera house, I thought, how can a poet go on a world tour? Does she just stand on the stage and speak for over an hour? Well, that's exactly what Rupi did, but boy was it powerful.  

Rupi walked out in a blindingly sparkly magenta two piece with her long dark hair straightened down her back. The very first thing she said was “hey my cuties”. She said she didn’t want any of the usual “snaps” that poetry audiences do when they hear something they like. She wanted us to be reactive and loud, even if the poem was sad. This built up over the night with girls yelling and swearing, matching the energy of Rupi’s poems. A screen displayed Rupi’s moving art, adding a picture to the words she said.  

Her poems are mostly for the girls, and this means people have looked down on her work. Classic. She spoke in between poems about how when her first book was self-published, many reviews deemed it as bad. It reminded me of how Taylor Swift is often called tacky or cheap because girls adore her.  

Rupi’s poems spoke about a woman's experience in such a relatable way. They were specific to her experiences with men, often her intelligence being overlooked or feared. One poem started, “You tell me to quiet down cause my opinions make me less beautiful”.  

Rupi also spoke about her mental health. Her poetry described how her depression snuck in her window without her seeing it coming. My Nana, who also has depression, said this perfectly described what it can be like.  

She also performed some unreleased poems including one about her gratitude to her refugee parents. The line that struck me most was about how her dad had crossed an ocean before learning a vowel.  

Poetry can sometimes feel like puzzles you have to unpack. However, I think the reason Rupi’s work is so popular is because it's so easy to understand. She told the audience that when she wrote her first book, her university teachers told her self-publishing was a dead end, no one buys poetry books anymore and all famous poets are dead. Despite this, she self-published Milk and Honey in 2014 and it's now the most sold poetry book ever.  

The show was an hour and a half which was just the right amount of time. She kept the audience on our toes by moving from poem to poem with different moods. However, there were some people going on their phones in the last half hour and texting. One girl in front of me was even sending work emails.  

I left the show with my Nana and sister like little girls in the school yard chatting over each other. My Nana absolutely loved Rupi Kaur. She walked out saying some men in her life are offended by her intelligence and she mustn't take it anymore. I left ready to spend my Massive Mag paycheck on all of Rupi’s books.