Canadian poet Rupi Kaur said she is no longer putting up with the fact that her debut poetry book, milk and honey, is continuously being banned in schools south of the border.
The Brampton native of India descent took to Instagram to share her frustrations after Pen America, a non-profit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights, released a list of books banned in different school districts scattered across the country.
The list of books banned and censored for the 2022-2023 school year were predominantly literature surrounding the topic of race, history, sexual violence and sexual orientation and gender.
Kaur’s poetry collection is known for touching on themes of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.
Her work has been removed in at least 14 school districts in the first half of this school year alone.
“it deeply concerns me that there is a group of people hell bent on taking away literature that students find refuge in. parents want to ban books to protect their kids. but teachers and librarians say that students are old enough to be aware of the topics discussed in these books. many actually seek these books out because they’re going through those experiences themselves,” Kaur said in an Instagram post Tuesday.
She even noted herself that a majority of banned books in the U.S touched on themes of 2SLGBTQ+ identities, race, gender, sexual assault, abortion, and American history.
“i remember sitting in my school library in high school, turning to books about sexual assault because i didn’t have anyone else to turn to. this is the reality for many students. we all find comfort in literature that reflects our experiences. now that books about sexual assault and other topics are being banned- i worry for students who rely on school libraries for access to literature,” she continued.
For this specific school year, book bans are most prevalent in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina.
Many authors have been banned in multiple districts and states. Ellen Hopkins, a novelist who writes for young adult and adult audiences, has not budged as the most banned author for two school years straight with 89 bans in 20 districts targeting 17 unique titles.
