plagiarism. bad poems. a viral video. cringe and troll. this is yet another fiasco. by rupi kaur

“Knowing you were wrong, when your fingers were dipped inside me, searching for honey that would not come for you.” This is just one of the many bite-sized poems in Canadian poet Rupi Kaur’s acclaimed yet polarising poetry collection Milk & Honey. 

For the ones who might get the feeling that the line is an absurd work of blank verse, just have a look at an older video of Kaur’s where she’s reading it out loud, complete with the voice modulation and hand gestures of a spoken word poet. 

And it is this video that is making even her staunchest fans (for the lack of a better word) cringe. Many have taken to Twitter to joke on how the video seems “forced” and almost like a “parody”. Fans of her written work are admitting that her spoken word performances come as too “extra”. 

But while Kaur and her brand of “lowercase font poetry” have been trolled for the past few years, the current backlash is also covering allegations of plagiarism. And who has she allegedly plagiarised from? Another brown poet!

The Rupi Kaur plagiarism controversy

In a viral tweet, a particular verse by Pavana Reddy is being shared alongside a verse by Kaur. Reddy’s poem, folks on Twitter claim, came first and was just rephrased by Kaur. 

For those who are unaware of Pavana Reddy, she’s a Los Angeles-based poet and songwriter, having written poems in the same format as Kaur and many other new-age blank verse writers. Reddy has written two poetry collections till now: Rangoli and Where Do You Go Alone. 

Reddy herself took to Twitter to compare her verse and Kaur’s plagiarised verses, adding that this is not the first time Kaur has plagiarised or rewritten her works. 

“The way this girl [Kaur] has been getting away with rewriting poems is appalling,” Reddy tweeted. 

Kaur hasn’t issued any reply as of now. 

Not Kaur’s first plagiarism allegation

As Twitter users are digging up more on Kaur’s post, they have pointed out how a former contemporary of hers, Nayyriah Waheed, has also accused her of plagiarism. Both poets found their initial fanbase on Tumblr, following which Kaur amassed a huge Instagram following after her photographs of herself with menstrual stains made it to headlines. 

Kaur, as is publicly known, carved her own niche of micro-poetry with hand-drawn illustrations. But, as people are talking about it again, Waheed has repeatedly accused Kaur of copying her writing style, ideas and rephrasing her words, allegations that Kaur has repeatedly declined. 

Rupi Kaur: The enigma of modern poetry

As a poet and an Indian-origin woman, she is quite a giant in modern literature and brown representation overseas. Kaur’s three poetry collections (Milk and Honey, The Sun and Her Flowers, Human Body) have all been acclaimed best-sellers even as the public continues to scrutinise her “Insta-poetry” style.

Of course, Kaur isn’t the only one; with other equally popular poets like Lang Leav and Kristen Robinson incorporating a similar kind of simplistic poetry. But when American magazine The New Republic called Rupi Kaur “The Writer of the Decade”, many culture commentators argued that this was a stretch. 

The poet is no less of a mainstream celebrity, having appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s talk show and performed her spoken word pieces to sold-out audiences (even though her intentionally dramatic style with forced emphasis on simple words have made her the subject of Internet ridicule at times).

While Reddy and her fans are seeking vengeance for the accused plagiarism, Rupi Kaur’s last Instagram post from April 13 is a reel celebrating her 5-continent poetry that involved 65 shows. 

“Thank you for giving me the gift of a lifetime,” Kaur wrote in the caption, wrapping up the “Rupi Kaur World Tour”.