Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave

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I had hoped after reading Milk and Honey ( which I review here) that Kaur would mature as a writer. In some ways, Home Body does offer us a more mature Kaur. The second poem in the book unfolds with uncharacteristic restraint. By withholding the subject of the poem, Kaur evokes a sense of suspense. It’s a simple tool in the poet’s toolbelt, but it’s promising to see Kaur taking her first steps into exploring the richness of the poet’s rhetorical options. But, hey if it's not broken, don't fix it right? Oh wait... Doesn't she hate capitalism? The hypocrisy. If she truly, TRULY, hates the system, HATES capitalism, she would have gone balls deep into this. She would have broke all boundaries, took a chance on a new writing style. You can't stay stagnant as an artist. Yes, you can have a style, but it's fun evolving and she claims she changes every month. Well, it's not being shown through her writing.

Home Body by Rupi Kaur | Goodreads Home Body by Rupi Kaur | Goodreads

In “home body,” Kaur sets up a holy trinity for a rich life — one of mind, body, and identity. She uses her accessible and relatable writing to directly enlighten the reader. She holds space for vast emotions and, at the same time, scatters bite-sized images and pieces of language that act like rafts for the reader, providing a way out of negative rabbit holes and into portals to self-love, community, and justice. In a society where so much is wrong, Kaur assures us that all salvation ultimately comes from ourselves. When we are open to the universes inside of us, there are no limits to what we, and our world, can be.TRANSPARENCY....i feel that rating poetry is a very touchy line to run your finger across. The art doesn't judge itself, people judge the art. So with that being said I believe Homebody deserves a five star rating. Rupi Kaur just wrote another book that reflects her own unique experience in life. For that she did great expressing herself...I can now note what I did or didn't like about this collection.

Homebody by Joanna Gaines | Waterstones

There are too many ideas here competing for airtime. Kaur has lifted her poetic antennae, received the signals of the culture, and taken her notes. I wonder what would happen if she approached her next book in a more organized manner, with a clearer mission; I wonder what would happen if she pushed her work, really challenged it. Kaur writes: “the future/ world of our dreams/ can’t be built on the / corruptions of the past.” If Kaur is to move forward and grow as a poet, I think she needs to let herself change, to risk a transition. Her poem, “Productivity Anxiety” could have been shorter. In fact, I’d cross the whole thing out except for one stanza. I find the writing thoroughly genuine and refreshing. I appreciate it more when the author expressed her concern over the unrealistic expectations to write more so that her work would bring her 'more' of what others believe would bring.Kaur wrestles with the consequences of her own success in Home Body. At 28 years of age, Kaur has done the impossible. She has sold over 8 million copies of her books of poetry. Can she top herself? Can she grow and maintain her audience? If her audience grows with her, I think she can do both, just not quite in this book. I found the book to be more inspirational than informative — there are descriptions of different styles, lots of photographs and drawings, and some general advice about the design of different rooms (such as Entryways, Kitchens, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, etc.). Mostly Joanna wants to inspire her readers to create a cozy home in their own style, and there are some short and sweet introductory words to each type of room. Recommended for fellow Jojo fans.

Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to

Share a moment of time with your readers. Don't lecture them. Don't tell them things they already know. Yes, the earth is heating up. Yes, there is racism. Yes, the world is chaotic and no one will live forever. Not you. Not me. Not your mother or your father. We all experience pain. No one is special. Depression and anxiety are everyday occurrences. We are all apart of this experience. But, who are you? That's what matters. Who are your loved ones? What are some of your bad habits? What are you interested in? It was interesting to read her take on a trans-inclusive feminism. As she is often so fixated on her womb and the "female energy" that comes out of it, I have thought many times that she excludes trans women by doing so. Maybe if she had written more than 3 words regarding this topic, her views would have been more clear to me. There is a hasty feeling to this book, the sense of someone fretfully and fitfully sitting in a room for a few nights, hashing it out. Later in the book, Kaur exhibits some self-awareness on this front, writing “your rushing is/ suffocating the masterpieces.” Many of the poems do feel rushed. The old themes could have been let go, or given more time to mature. The new themes perhaps needed more time to develop. There’s a “work in progress” feel to this book, but perhaps that is its charm.Kaur’s verses use metaphors and similes that spatialize and give form to mind, body, and identity, helping to conceptualize how each plays a part in our emotions. She alternately characterizes these elements as objects, imprinted upon by our experiences, or as individual beings with their own sense of agency. For example, the poem “there are miracles in me / waiting to happen / i am never giving up on myself” poses the self as divine and also mysterious, consisting of unexplored portals. The poem “there is a conversation / happening inside you / pay deep attention / to what your inner world / is saying” makes one conscious of the different components that coexist to make up a person. Through this internal world-building and grandiose, celestial imagery, Kaur provides a compelling understanding of the human body that doesn’t just deserve to be loved, but demands it. I love that most of the twenty-two "case study" homes, introduced at the beginning of the book, are a blend of the six foundational styles (farmhouse, modern, rustic, industrial, traditional, boho); I didn't love that the book is then organized room by room, so it isn't easy to follow which home is which or to really get a good feel for each home as a whole. In my legal content writing, I often find myself writing for people facing major life transitions, whether it’s the person who has been seriously injured in an accident, the person going through a divorce, the person whose life has been changed by crime, or the person making end-of-life plans. There is a kind of poetry to be found in our moments of greatest uncertainty. Poets have mastered this art. But if Kaur shows us anything it is that there is poetry to be found wherever we write about these transitions. Poetry can be anywhere; everywhere. Kaur reminds me to find the poetry everywhere. About the Writer