I recently read Milk & Honey for the second time and taking a minute to look at the craft and organization of the piece, I have to say this book is absolutely *goals* as far as poetry collections go.
This review has some spoilers, so If you want to know if I recommend the book, scroll to the end.
First thing to note is the use of minimalistic art, drawn by Kaur herself, the drawings add an extra layer to some poems, either juxtaposing the message to highlight the disparity in the poem, or by simply reiterating the poem’s meaning.
The other thing I loved about this book is that there were poems that were short, poems with titles, no titles, poems with art, no art, poems that were more like blocks of prose— some two pages long, some are just a singular thought like the one above.
The variety was engaging, addictive, and exciting. You never know what is going to be on the next page.
Also, as someone who is really into book matter (The table of contents, all the little extra bits that go into making a book), this collection is firing on all cylinders.
Most notably is that the book is separated into 4 parts: The Hurting, The Loving, The Breaking, and The Healing. Each section has it’s own driving force.
[Begin Spoilers]
The Hurting is about *trigger warning* the sexual abuse that Kaur endured throughout her youth, how she learned how to love through this lens and basically, it’s the reason why the book exists.
Kaur writes on the back cover (which is written as a poem, might I add. *Genius*) “this is the journey of/ surviving though poetry”. We can see her starting from a place of vulnerability, and as the book goes on, we get to experience her growth as she redefines what love means in section two: the loving.
The Breaking covers the tumult and stormy transition of breaking up, and more specifically breaking up with the person that helped you heal through the previous trauma. This is such a delicate section, filled with a lot of conflicting feelings, not knowing when to let go, not wanting to let go, and fingering out how to reinvent yourself after a break up with a significant person.
Lastly, we get to follow Kaur as she explores her relationship with herself, her roots, and her writing in the final section: the healing.
Here lays some of Kaur’s best work, most notably on page 179, joined with a landscape of sloping moutain tops, she writes:
i want to apologize to all the women i 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 the most you have to be proud of when your spirit has crushed mountains from now on i wills ay things like you are resilient or you are extraordinary not because i don’t thin you’re pretty but because you are so much more than that
- Rupi Kaur, Milk & Honey, Page 179
This is the very first poem I ever heard her perform and it remains one of her recognizable “greatest hits”.
As you work your way through the healing section you will experience Rupi’s higher thinking, her views on race, feminism, and self-love. This is the redemptive part of the book as we move away from the pain, love, and heartbreak of the previous sections of the book.
[end spoilers]
Overall, I rate this book a 4/5.
It’s a wonderful introduction to modern poetry, it’s easy to read. The only reason I don’t give it a perfect score is because a few of the poems are repetitive, especially in “the breaking”, and you can sort of tell that the first audience for this book was instagram (I talk about how Kaur got her start there in this post).
Otherwise, it’s a must read.
Now it’s your turn, do you think you’d read this book? Comment below!
Thanks for this review! As a fiction writer, I'm always trying to read more poetry b/c I think it helps my prose, but it's hard to know what to pick when looking for a collection to read. I'd never thought about it before, but Instagram does seem like a great platform for poets. I will have to start following Rupi.