Writer, illustrator, and poet Jasmin Kaur joins us on the podcast this week. Jasmin’s work has been celebrated globally, and has been shared by celebrities and activists such as Jennifer Lopez, Tessa Thompson, and Reese Witherspoon. She talks to us about her journey as a writer and what it’s like to know her work has had such a wide reach, how she ensures she maintains her original intentions when sharing her work, and why she feels it’s so important for her to share and protect her authentic voice.
- Jasmin tells us how she fell in love with poetry and how she went from watching spoken word Youtube videos to writing and sharing her work online to publishing her first poetry collection
- She explains the motivation behind her work, how she uses poetry to challenge the erasure of Sikh women and express her unique experiences, and what it feels like knowing her work is connecting to readers around the world
- Jasmin discusses the pros and cons of publishing her work on social media, where both connection and critique can be so immediate, how she protects herself online, and how important it is that she stands up for herself and protects her work
- Jasmin tells us about the experience of reading her own audiobook, explaining how the performance of poetry is such an integral part of the reading experience
- She explains why she loves using mixed media to tell her stories, what her writing process looks like, and what she’s working on now
Useful Links
Jasmin’s Website
Jasmin’s Instagram
When You Ask Me Where I’m Going
Def Jam Poetry
Heartdrum from HarperCollins
Saffron Press
Juliet Takes a Breath
Jasmin Kaur is a writer, illustrator and poet living on unceded Sto:lo territory. Her writing, which explores themes of feminism, womanhood, social justice and love, acts as a means of healing and reclaiming identity. As a spoken word artist and creative writing facilitator, she has toured across North America, the UK and Australia to connect with youth through the power of artistic expression.
Her debut poetry and prose collection, When You Ask Me Where I’m Going (October 2019), is now available with HarperTeen in North America and will be published in the Indian subcontinent by Penguin Random House India.
You can find her on Instagram at @jusmun.
