These days, we've seen a proliferation of amazing South Asian artists — and we're loving it!
These five poets have conquered the realm of poetry with their inventive and uncompromising work. Check them out below.
1. Ena Ganguly

Ganguly’s poem “Boys Will Be Boys” went viral last week, and it's one of her best works. Critiquing the double standards women deal with in body policing, this poem is emotionally stark and draws you in straight away.


No list could be complete without Brampton’s finest poet, Rupi Kaur. These poems are some of my favourites from her debut collection, Milk & Honey. Tackling subjects like menstruation and body image, they reduce the stigma around processes that women go through and start a dialogue by placing them in the open.
3. Naina Kataria
Photo Credit: Infinite Entropy
4. Vivek Shraya
Photo Credit: VivekShraya.com
Shraya’s photo series Trisha is a stunning work that examines her relationship with her mother. Stepping into stylish and candid photos of her mother, Shraya reconciles what it was like for her mother to parent a genderqueer child. The work is fearless and honest, and it touches on that universal desire to be accepted by one’s parents.
5. DarkMatter
DarkMatter is a trans South Asian performance art duo comprising Alok Vaid-Menon and Janani Balasubramanian. Their performance Bollywood is a hilariously snarky work about white people exotifying Bollywood films. It spans into a critique of cultural appropriation that showcases their wicked interplay together.
Main Image Photo Credit: 4 Corners Brampton
Body Image, Bollywood, Cultural Appropriation, Dark Matter, Ena Ganguly, Exotification, Menstruation, Naina Kataria, Poetry, Rupi Kaur, Vivek Shraya

Rumnique Nannar
Author
Rumnique Nannar is a new journalist with a passion for all things pop culture, film, and art. Rumnique was born in London, with a predilection for devouring English chocolate with her Vogue, ANOKHI, and Glamour magazines in tow. She is currently in her Journalism Masters at UBC. Connect ...
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