Canadian Indian poet Rupi Kaur’s “Milk and Honey” has been banned from certain Texas school libraries for content that explores experiences of “sexual assault and violence.”
A collection of poems and short stories, the book was published in 2014 and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.
The 29-year-old poet shared an Instagram post on Friday of an interview she did with ABC News Live discussing the recent ban of her book in Texas. In her caption, Kaur describes the ban as “dangerously terrifying” and criticized the decision as taking away the “safe haven” her book provided for young readers who may have experienced sexual assault.
“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,” Kaur wrote on Instagram. “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.”
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In addition to Texas, Kaur mentions that parts of Oregon are also attempting to ban her book.
“Milk and Honey” is one of many books that have recently been banned in Texas and several other conservative areas, according to Pen America, which documented the rapid expansion of book bans over the last nine months in a formal report.
In October 2021, as the topic of teaching critical race theory in schools was being heatedly debated, Republican Texas lawmaker Matt Krause requested that 850 books discussing topics of race and sexuality be identified in public school libraries in an attempt to remove them, citing concern that they may “make students feel discomfort.”
Kaur is now working to bring her book back into the classrooms and school libraries.
“I hope that I can continue working with librarians and teachers to sort of find a way to get this book unbanned and back in classrooms,” Kaur said in her interview with ABC News Live.
