_JPG.jpg)
A Review of Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Rating: 3 Stars
I read a lot of poetry and I did like this collection, but I did not love it. There are things I really liked about some of the poetry and other things that did not resonate with me. The thing I loved was how this was broken down into four sections or moments in life: the hurting, the loving, the breaking and the healing. This allowed me as the reader to understand the journey from beginning to end. Most of the poetry was very short, very to the point. I personally enjoy more meat in my poetry, meat that builds a more vivid picture of a moment, an emotion, a declaration. That said many of these short poems, when taken as a whole, are brilliantly cohesive, making it easier to build those vivid pictures only as the sum of the books poetry parts are knitted together. Do I recommend it? Yes, I do, because while it was not my taste, I see it resonating with a younger crowd. I think it falls in step with an ever-evolving genre of writing that is meant to stir and impact the reader and while not my particular cup of tea this collection did just that, even if I cringed a few times.
Poetry, I think, even more so than other forms of writing, is subjective because it is purposefully meant to make us feel. Milk and Honey did that, but with the topic/subject matter, I wanted to be stirred, I wanted my heart to pound, and I wanted tears to fall. Not one of those reactions followed and maybe that is a high standard, but I have read and heard poetry that does just that, Olivia Gatwood and Sarah Kay, for example, make me laugh, cry, and relate. There is a power behind their words that can echo through the soul and touch those parts of ourselves that we may not let the rest of the world see. For this reason, I only gave Milk and Honey three stars, even though it is so popular. stars, even though it is so popular.
