A Night with Rupi Kaur

A Night with Rupi Kaur

“I am the first woman in my lineage with freedom of choice.”-Rupi Kaur

The young poet glides onto the stage with a crown upon her head and silk gown flowing in the wind she creates when she walks, her heels announcing her presence before she is visible. She captivates the audience from the moment she appears. Rupi Kaur stands 5’2” (5’5” in heels) but her spirit is as tall as a mountain. She is an old soul and at first glance has the grace and beauty of a Bollywood movie star. However, when she opens her mouth to speak you quickly see yourself in her.

Throughout the night Rupi sways back and forth from gorgeously written poems about toxic relationships, female empowerment, family, and self love to self-deprecating jokes about unibrows, the Asian food aisle, and her “emo” tendencies. She chatted with the audience as if they were long lost friends and brought one member on stage to help her read a poem.

Rupi rose to fame as a self published poet at 22 years old with the release of her book of poems, Milk and Honey and was dubbed an “Instapoet” for posting her poetry on her instagram feed along with illustrations. She has captured the essence of many of her fellow millennials and gained 2.6 million followers on Instagram along the way. She gives a voice to those who are not heard from immigrant families making their way in a foreign land to young women too scared to speak up about their trauma in today’s society. Rupi Kaur is a true force and a night with her brought tears, laughter, and most of all, inspiration.

“I stand on the sacrifices of a million women before me thinking, What can I do to make this mountain taller so the women after me can see farther?”-Rupi Kaur