sa国际传媒淢other / allow me to grow / and do not worry / about spoiled fruit.sa国际传媒�
That is the closing verse of , recently published in Phulkari: The Book, a 150-page collection of the 21-year-old Abbotsford nativesa国际传媒檚 poems sa国际传媒� and grow she has.
Kaur has developed a large online following of , where she posts some of her poems, and that following has largely gathered over two-and-a-half years, since she began posting her works publicly.
sa国际传媒淚t wasnsa国际传媒檛 until it really took off that I realized that this could be a book, and that people would buy it, which they are,sa国际传媒� Kaur said.
Phulkari was self-published in May and officially released in July, though she had originally intended to go through a publisher.
sa国际传媒淏ut there were too many changes they wanted to make, and I felt like it kind of compromised my artistic integrity in a way,sa国际传媒� Kaur said.
sa国际传媒淸Self-publishing] is a lot of work because yousa国际传媒檙e doing the marketing, the editing, the designing, everything by yourself. sa国际传媒� Itsa国际传媒檚 a big investment as well, and theresa国际传媒檚 a lot of risk involved.sa国际传媒�
But that risk appears to have paid off.
sa国际传媒淭he response is really, really good. I had a successful book signing a few weeks ago at the Abbotsford mall, and since then Isa国际传媒檝e been offered book signings in Burnaby and Vancouver,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淲hen I first put out pre-orders, I put out 250 copies minimum, and the pre-order was sold out in less than two weeks. It was amazing, and it was far beyond anything I ever imagined.sa国际传媒�
Part of that payoff sa国际传媒� beside her strong writing abilities and the extensive work spent on marketing sa国际传媒� likely comes from Kaursa国际传媒檚 identity, one she says isnsa国际传媒檛 well-represented in media but which influences her writing.
sa国际传媒淚 get so many messages online, as well, after people read my book, especially from Punjabi Sikh women, who say that itsa国际传媒檚 really refreshing to even just be able to hold the work in their hands of a Punjabi Sikh woman,sa国际传媒� Kaur said.
sa国际传媒淚 talk about universal themes as well, such as heartbreak and love and all that universal stuff, but with an added complexity of my identity.sa国际传媒�
Thatsa国际传媒檚 also reflected in the name of the book; sa国际传媒減hulkarisa国际传媒� is the name for a type of flower work or embroidery in Punjabi culture, which appears in the design of the cover of the book. Each of the six chapters in Kaursa国际传媒檚 book also comes back to that theme.
Read our sidebar to this story, Kaur pushing bast stereotypes in gang violence dialogue, below. If attachment does not work, .
She takes the name Kaur, which is given to all Sikh women sa国际传媒� whereas all Sikh men are given the name Singh sa国际传媒� and one of her poems defines her perspective of the name.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e had these girls that have messaged me and say that it is so surreal to be seeing a book with the name Kaur on it. It drives people absolutely nuts. They love it,sa国际传媒� she said, also pointing to one of her own favourite writers, Rupi Kaur. sa国际传媒淲hen I first held her book in my hands, I felt like crying, that I saw sa国际传媒楰aursa国际传媒� on a bookshelf.sa国际传媒�
| Harman Kaur in a promotional photo for Chapter 1: The Fraying, "an exploration of that which tears us apart," in Phulkari, her recently published book of poetry. (Preet Sanghera photo/Instagram) |
Kaur didnsa国际传媒檛 always write for herself, saying she specifically wrote on universal terms, speaking in a broad voice to be identifiable with anyone who read her work. But that changed when she started her English degree at Simon Fraser University.
sa国际传媒淚 was such an English enthusiast, and then all of a sudden I hated it. And I just had to look back and say, sa国际传媒榃hy? Why do I hate this so much?sa国际传媒� And itsa国际传媒檚 because I was literally reading works of dead white people from the Renaissance, and I didnsa国际传媒檛 care about dead white men from the Renaissance. sa国际传媒� I guess that encouraged me to even write more. I felt this void from not being able to read what I wanted to, and I just filled that void by writing my own stuff,sa国际传媒� Kaur said.
sa国际传媒淭here are so many stories out there already for different types of people, and I just donsa国际传媒檛 think there are enough stories out there for people like me, so Isa国际传媒檓 just adding to that story.sa国际传媒�
Writing in a way that expresses herself sa国际传媒� penning poems that fit her rather than a generic one-size-fits-all poetry for the broader culture sa国际传媒� feels and looks better, too, Kaur says.
sa国际传媒淚 think that when yousa国际传媒檙e writing, especially in forms like this, if yousa国际传媒檙e not writing what the truth is, itsa国际传媒檚 not satisfying. sa国际传媒� I just had this urge to tell my story, and when yousa国际传媒檙e telling your story, you tell the truth,sa国际传媒� she said.
The book can be found online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and signed copies of the book are . Phulkari is also being sold at Chapters and Indigo in B.C., as well as the Coles bookstore in the Sevenoaks Shopping Centre.
sa国际传媒淚 made sure that was the first place it was available.sa国际传媒�
