Rupi Kaur's poetry collection milk and honey became a literary phenomenon when it was published a decade ago, holding a spot on the New York Times Best Seller list for 165 weeks. But it was an uphill battle getting it published in the first place.
The author appeared on Marie Claire's podcast "Nice Talk" and opened up about having to take a leap of faith and self-publish the book. Kaur explains on the podcast that, when she was still in college and first considering publishing milk and honey, she asked one of her creative writing professors for advice. But her professor "just stopped me midway through mid-thought."
She continues, "She [was] like, 'Yeah, I'm sorry to tell you, but nobody publishes poetry, and also most poetry that gets published is by dead people."
