the sun and her flowers

When Kaur began posting her poetry on social media, she regarded writing poetry as an enjoyable hobby. She did it because she loved it. Even before the rise of social media, she had performed her own poetry at open mics and poetry slams. However, after the huge and unexpected sales of Kaur’s first book, milk and honey, she felt a lot of pressure to follow it with another success. She was beginning to think of poetry not just as a hobby but as a career, in which case she felt she needed to ensure that her work achieved commercial success. The pressure affected her mental and physical health, leaving her feeling debilitated. She had migraines that lasted 72 hours and also experienced writer’s block. She told Mónica Bozinoski in an interview for Vogue Portugal in October 2019 that writing the sun and her flowers was her “biggest creative challenge, cause I had to overcome my own fear, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome to complete it.” She also explained how the new book differed from milk and honey. Whereas the former was a “journey inward,” the sun and her flowers constituted “a journey outward. It’s stepping outside of yourself and walking out into the world.