An Instagram-famous poet’s book is the top seller of 2017 so far. Rupi Kaur’s Instagram has amassed over 1.6 million followers, and her book Milk and Honey has sold over 700,000 copies. She’s outsold the next bestselling poet, Homer, by ten to one, and the other authors behind her in sales include John Grisham, J.D. Vance, and Margaret Atwood. How does she do it? Her work is “tidily aestheticized and monetized, rendered inspirational and relatable” with poems that are “short enough to fit easily in Instagram’s square frame, and her sentiments general enough to be universally recognizable.” (The Cut)
