Rupi Kaur’s TikTok poetry reading leaves fans divided

A video of Canadian poet Rupi Kaur reading one of her pieces has received mixed reactions after it was shared online.

The clip, originally from TikTok, sees the Milk and Honey writer read from the debut poetry collection, published in 2014.

Gesturing as she reads from the book, Kaur says: “You must have known you were wrong when your fingers were dipped inside me searching for honey that would not come for you.”

The 13-second video was posted on Twitter on Monday by user @kanyewestluvr, and has since received more than 2.7 million views.

“Rupi Kaur needs to be locked up for this video,” the tweet reads.

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The original video appears to have been deleted from Kaur’s official TikTok account, with only three videos remaining showing her reading from her third book, Home Body.

Social media users soon commented on the way Kaur read the piece, with several citing “second hand embarrassment”:

Others, however, were more positive, with one commenter on TikTok stressing that it is “not a joke”.

“To everyone commenting poetry is supposed to be expressed however the reader or writer says it. It has emotion and rawness,” they said.

Another added: “Tbh I used to be rude about her poetry. But I love how effortlessly she is herself, wish I had that confidence.”

Kaur’s poetry, recognised for its unconventional formatting, gained popularity on social media platforms such as Instagram and Tumblr.