Nepal, Jan. 4 -- Earlier this week, when Ruman Aalam in The New Republic declared Rupi Kaur-the Indian-Canadian poet known for her aphoristic poems on Instagram-as the 'Writer of the Decade,' all I could do was stare at the screen, unable to comprehend the looming dismal reality.

Aalam's main argument is that her work is "within the parameters of a smartphone screen," the only constraint modern readers are accustomed to. By embodying technology with contemporary life, Kaur has created scribblings (along with authentic sketches) about self-love, sexual abuse, feminism, and much more.

But does that explain the 3.5 million copies of the sale of her books? For one reason, Kaur's writing is extremely accessible. A 15-year-old with little or ...