Instagramable uninventive poetry. I have ridden the Rupi Kaur craze like any good contemporary poetry lover, and I was taken by her debut collection Milk and Honey, but this third book has taken a turn for the worst. I don't really know how this got published on any merit of quality, which says to me it was like the sequel to any movie franchise; the publishers knew that the third book would sell.
The poetry had very little manipulation of language. For example, her lack of nuance was painfully plain when she would write a poem with small "explanations" following a dash written in italics, as so;
I love him
- a poem about how I love him
It read as though Kaur had a thought pop into her head, wrote it down, then thought "that'll do". The illustrations were the most interesting and detailed part about this collection; and I am certain there are illustrators out there who would highly disagree. There are some poems that commentate on "how hard it is to be a poet", and at her level of popularity and lack of linguistic focus, it is hard to believe that it is hard for her as a poet at all.
These comments perhaps seem harsh, and could easily open up a larger conversation of "what is good poetry?', does it all have to be nuanced? The simple answer to that is, no it doesn't, but what is the point if there is no attention to detail?
For me, this collection isn't it, but if you want a collection that aligns with the three cliche pillars of "Live Laugh Love", then this is for you.
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