It's been years since modern poet Rupi Kaur last found herself at the center of social media discourse, but, as some on Twitter would tell it, nothing good lasts forever.
Just over two years ago, a video of Kaur reading her poem with aggressively sexual intonation went viral on Twitter as many found the poem mediocre and the performance cringeworthy. On Saturday, Twitter user @still_oppressed reposted the clip, starting a ball of Rupi Kaur discourse rolling that landed the poet's name in Twitter's trending tab this morning.
This was largely thanks to Twitter user @_sheehogue_, who cursed brought to the timeline a second clip of Kaur reading a poem about her puberty with exaggerated movements that could be described as a kind of stilted Macarena.
This is my “favorite” Rupi Kaur reading https://t.co/9ZONiLS6cd pic.twitter.com/HNgIUy5kwm
— Brian 🥀 (@_Sheehogue_) April 10, 2023
As Twitter users got their yuks in firing off jabs at Kaur's performance, her name became a topic of debate once users began defending Kaur as a woman who was allowing herself to be "vulnerable" and "embarrassing."
While users debated if there was a misogynistic bent to disliking Kaur's work, some noted that beyond Kaur's supposed sin of being cringe, she has also been accused of plagiarism. Specifically, Kaur has long been accused of knocking off poet Nayyriah Waheed, and others have noticed strong similarities in her work to other modern poets who came before her.
Kaur has continued to publish poetry collections since her 2014 breakthrough Milk and Honey, and is reported to be worth $1.2 million. Meanwhile, Twitter may not be huge fans of her poetry as a whole, but at least it will always have the memes.
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