Rupi Kaur

“I like B.C. because it's so beautiful, but I think Toronto's the greatest place because every corner of the world is here.”

“If I body-shame a woman, it is more a reflection of me being critical of my body, me not being able to keep up to certain standards I have, and so making sure that the women around me feel the same way.”

“I wasn't entitled to dream so big. The idea of me being a writer wasn't even possible in my mind. Even when I began to write and first published, I couldn't call myself a writer.”

“I used to submit to anthologies and magazines when I was a student - but I knew I was never going to be picked up.”

“Growing up, I naturally embraced who I was, but I was always battling with myself. So I spent half my time being proud of being a woman and the other half completely hating it.”

“he placed his hands on my mind before reaching for my waist my hips or my lips”

“I always wrote stories, but I do remember a particular moment in middle school where I became passionate about essay writing.”

“I would give anything to sing like Beyonce or Adele. I've said many times to my friends that if I could sing like them, I would give up poetry and writing.”

“I don't fit into the age, race, or class of a bestselling poet.”

“'You're beautiful' was the compliment I craved so much. I didn't care if people called me smart or innovative - it was the number-one compliment I gave out to other women hoping it was given back to me. I heard people saying it to my best friends. It was the one I wanted to hear more than anything else.”

“With immigrant parents, they've had to sacrifice so much to survive, and they're trying to preserve the culture they lost, so there are just so many boundaries.”

“Truth, honesty, empowerment - it's what I want for myself and my readers.”

“do not bother holding ontothat thing that does not want you-you cannot make it stay”

“what terrifies me most is how wefoam at the mouth with envywhen others succeedbut sigh in reliefwhen they are failingour struggle tocelebrate each other iswhat's proven most difficultin being human”

“The pain that all people experience in life and the light that helps them champion through it all - it's their lives and their stories and their love and will to keep living that moves me to write.”

“I write from the various experiences I live. Not every poem comes from my personal experience, though. It could be something that a friend lived, or a person from my community here, or a woman anywhere around the world.”

“הוא צריך היה להיות אהבת הגבר הראשונה בחייך, ואת עדיין מחפשת אותו בכל מקום – אבא.”

“אני מוזיאון מלא ביצירות אמנות, אך אתה עצמת את עינייך.”

“איך זה שכל כך קל לך להיות נדיבה עם אנשים, הוא שאל.”

“אמרה שעליי להתחתן עם גבר שהייתי רוצה שבני יהיה כמוהו.”