'Milk and Money' sells more than half a million copies

Instapoet Rupi Kaur’s originally self-published Milk and Honey has sold more than half a million copies in the US, and continues to move around 30,000 copies per week.

According to its publisher, the book is currently into its 16th printing, and it has topped charts even in North America.

Kaur's published poetry collection was first self-published almost two years ago, in November 2014, before it was snapped up by Andrews McMeel Publishing, which released its own edition in October that year.

“We thought it would sell well, but the momentum of sales that took off in March this year was very exciting, especially when the book hit the New York Times bestseller list,” said publisher and president Kirsty Melville.

“We have sold over half a million copies and are currently in our 16th printing.”

Kaur says that Milk and Honey “takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look”.

“this is the journey of

surviving through poetry

this is the blood sweat tears

of twenty-one years

this is my heart

in your hands

this is

the hurting

the loving

the breaking

the healing,” she writes in one.

Kaur, a Toronto-based artist and poet, first drew headlines with her eloquent photo series on menstruation, entitled "period."

When one of the photos was deleted twice by Instagram for violating community guidelines, after it showed a small amount of menstrual blood.

Kaur's successful battle with the social media giant sparked both high praise and death threats from strangers.

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