a life-long poem chronicle
So grateful for Bramah and The Beggar Boy debut on the BC Books Bestseller List for the week ending June 26, 2021, and with such a kind blurb from the Association of Book Publishers of BC:
“This is a poet’s generous and attenuated invitation to her readers to join her in a life-long project of unlocking and unbinding, of challenging the primacy of borders, the formal, the political and the self-imposed.”
~Read Local BC Newsletter
Bramah and The Beggar Boy
Book One of the THOT J BAP series.
An Epic Fantasy in Verse.
Book Launch details forthcoming
Save the Date! July 17, 2021 at 1:00 PM on Zoom.
Thrilled to have my upcoming epic fantasy in verse, Bramah and the Beggar Boy, on this amazing CBC Books feature:
Poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar kicks off a multi-part series about survivors of ecological destruction with Bramah and the Beggar Boy. Inspired by fairy tales, the first instalment is about a woman named Bramah and a beggar boy living in an abandoned village. They find fragments of an ancient text, and slowly piece together the story of what happened to the planet, and why they live the way they do.”
“Listening to the Bees is a collaborative exploration by two writers focusing their shared interests in bees. Through their distinct but complementary lenses of science and poetry, Mark L. Winston and Renée Sarojini Saklikar implore readers to listen to the bees, as we depend on them for our own survival and prosperity. The result is a marvellous journey into a deeper understanding of science, culture, nature, and language.
In this Speaker Series presentation, Mark L. Winston and Renée Sarojini Saklikar will welcome us into their multi-dimensional understanding of bees through conversation, readings and imagery.”
Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Dear Vancouver, have you seen these around the Art Gallery?
The Downtown Vancouver BIA has installed hydrophobic invisible paint pieces that are rain- activated to reveal The Poetry Phone. Call 1-833-POEMS-4-U during April (National Poetry Month) to get your daily dose of great poetry from local poets.
Honoured to be the event moderator for the Storied Series on March 28—looking forward to a great discussion with Vici Johnstone, publisher at Caitlin Press; Scott Steedman, editor and publishing consultant; and Meghan O’Neill, marketing strategist at Page Two Books.
Surrey Art Gallery Association’s online gift shop is the place to buy “The Summons,” a poetry- and art-covered face mask that “honours the cycles of change and transformation that people are individually and collectively going through.”
The mask was co-created by Surrey-based artist Debbie Westergaard Tuepah and poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar, who was Surrey’s first Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2018.”
Masks are available for purchase at the Surrey Art Gallery Association.
Masks available for purchase: Surrey Art Gallery Association.
From February 19 to 21, 2021, Seedy event organizers from across the province will join FarmFolk CityFolk in delivering a pandemic-friendly opportunity to connect with BC community organizations, seed businesses, non-profit organizations, and learn about seed saving. There will be opportunities to swap seeds within and between communities and network with seed enthusiasts from all corners of the province. Speakers and sessions will include seed saving and gardening education, a keynote address by Dr. Vandana Shiva, opening remarks by Hon. Lana Popham, BC Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, two movie screenings, a Q&A with Master Gardeners, local community discussions, poetry readings, a silent auction, and more.
FarmFolk CityFolk
So lovely to have been part of this event. In case you missed the poetry readings, you can now watch and listen to the video poems HERE!
Sarah de Leeuw – October Chanterelling
Matt Rader – Garlic
Nancy Holmes – The Way We Are Made Of
Michelle Doege – Fields of Wheat
Fiona Tinwei Lam – August Raspberries
Yvonne Blomer – Rhubarb, Death in a Garden
Renée Sarojini Saklikar – Grandmother’s Instruction
Shelley Leedahl – Sometimes
John Barton Malus Pumila
Rhona McAdam – Wild Bees
Cornelia Hoogland – Seaweed
For more details about Seedy Saturday, please visit HERE.
I READ CANADIAN DAY celebrates the richness, diversity, and breadth of Canadian children’s literature.
Here’s me with my pick: Annette LeBox’s Peace is an Offering (illustrated by Stephanie Graegin) from Dial Books for Young Readers.
I’m delighted to see a buzz gathering around the Poetry Phone, Vancouver’s first free poetry hotline. Here are a collection of interviews and articles delving deeper into this wonderful project:
What makes poetry pertinent to, or helpful amid, the times we’re living in, this period of isolation and worry?
I think like all art, poetry helps us connect: to our own emotions; to social issues; to the world around us.
The Poetry Phone project seeks to provide a connection to joy, to comfort, and also, like any good poem will do, to provoke and inspire.”
2020 has been a challenging year for many people, and it’s the small things that can bring joy to someone’s day,” says Charles Gauthier, CEO of the DVBIA, in the release. “The Poetry Phone is a simple way to bring a smile to people’s faces and celebrate the work of local artists.”
Give the line a ring, won’t you? #VanPoetryPhone
Pleased to be the curator of The Poetry Phone, Vancouver’s first free poetry hotline.
Callers can dial 1-833-POEMS-4-U (763-6748) to listen to poetry recordings provided by 10 local writers. After dialling the main line, callers can press numbers 0 to 9 to listen to different poems.
Thank you to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) for supporting the launch of the wonderful project that celebrates the work of local Vancouver writers, and for bringing a new and accessible format of uplifting entertainment to anyone who has felt social isolation during the difficult times this past year.
Give the line a ring—I would love to hear what you think!
Honoured to have my ghost story x memoir essay “Man with Golden Helmet” featured in Issue 28 of Pulp Literature, set to launch on Facebook Live on November 7 at 2pm!
Lunch Poems is a unique opportunity to celebrate poetry and is held now online on the third Wednesday of every month, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. This month’s reading features poets Lindsay B-e and Jessica Moore.
The raison d’être of Lunch Poems is to invite and welcome everyone to enjoy poetry in a relaxed and casual atmosphere: whether you are new to poetry or have had a long romance with it. We invite you to join us to lunch on words and feed your soul.
