Rupi Kaur Responded To The 'Milk & Honey' Book Banning In Texas & She Said It's 'Scary'
The famous author shared her thoughts on an Instagram post.
Poet Rupi Kaur poses for a photo. Right: An image of the banned 'Milk and Honey' poetry book.
Canadian-Indian poet Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey book was officially banned in Texas schools this year after years of parents and lawmakers calling for it.
Kaur spoke with ABC News Live Wednesday night to react to the book's boycott, which she feels is "scary" for young girls all around the world.
"It's so unfortunate and kind of disturbing just to see the way those poems about our experiences — about the abuse that we endure — are now the reason that this book is being banned," Kaur said on the show.
Kaur wants to work with librarians to find a way to get the book back into libraries.
Tuesday night, she took to Instagram to share an official response to the ban in Texas and Oregon, stating she's sad young people can no longer find refuge in her book. She even shared a quote from an Oregonian librarian who wants to keep Milk and Honey in her library believing that children have a right to learn about issues with sexual violence.
Her full message reads:
"over the last few months parts of texas and oregon have banned or attempted to ban ‘milk and honey’ from schools and libraries. why? because it explores sexual assault and violence experienced by a young woman.
the banning of ‘milk and honey’ along with an ever growing list of literature is dangerously terrifying. banning books is the banning of culture and experiences for everybody.
i think about who i was at 21-years-old when i published ‘milk and honey’. before this book reached your hands and sold millions of copies my proudest memories were and still are- young women and men who used this book as a safe haven from their own experiences of sexual assault. it’s sad this safe haven is now restricted from them."
Her post received 600,000 views, and an endless flow of commenters that were mostly supportive sharing the effect Milk and Honey had on them; noting the book helped them during a difficult time where they had nothing else to turn to. Some other commenters shared their outrage that the book was banned.
The poet is set to go on a world tour this summer, and as of right now, her three stops in Texas this June are still happening. Tickets can be found here.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual violence, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or consult RAINN's website.