A decade after Rupi Kaur’s milk and honey became a global publishing phenomenon, poet Nayyirah Waheed has once again put their long-running literary dispute in the spotlight — framing it not simply as a question of literary similarity, but of accountability, race and who gets recognised in the contemporary poetry world.
Just recently, Waheed posted on Instagram accusing Kaur of taking credit for her work and announcing that her book salt would be distributed in stores around the world, allowing readers to finally see what she described as the original creation.“Rupi Kaur, since you took credit for my blueprint/literary innovation ‘salt’ (in front of the whole world) — I’ll also take the credit for those 11-12+ million copies of Milk and Honey”, she said.
“I’ll also take credit for the multi-millions that were made from these global sales, the industry, the economy, the entire genre, that was created from my innovation. Thank you”, she further said, adding, “Get ready to see ‘salt’. EVERYWHERE”.
Waheed also used the post to argue that she was not the first writer or artist to accuse another artist of taking from their work. She cited Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s Hound Dog and Elvis, Little Richard and Pat Boone, Richard Berry and The Kingsmen, and Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon and Led Zeppelin.
