Poet Rupi Kaur said she is "deeply" concerned and disappointed that her book, Milk and Honey, was one of the most banned books in the United States this school year.
A new report from PEN America revealed the eleven most banned books of the 2022 - 2023 year, with Kaur's collection of poems featured on the list. Milk and Honey tied with Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, with each banned in ten school districts.
“over the past year or so, ‘milk and honey’ has been getting banned in school districts across america at alarming rates," Kaur wrote on Instagram. "now @penamerica has found it’s in the list of 11 most banned books in the 2022-2023 school year because it explores issues of sexual assault and violence."
Published in 2014, Milk and Honey explores themes of sexual assault and trauma, as well as femininity and love. Kaur said that she has always used literature from her school library to process events in her own life, and that her writings were meant to reach students who had also been victims of intimate violence.
“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,” she continued. “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.”
Kaur also noted that most of the books being banned in schools feature LGBTQ+ identities, racism, or sexual assault as topics.
“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,” Kaur wrote. “many actually seek these books out because they’re going through those experiences themselves.”
