November 23 : A Reading with Chris Turnbull

Delighted to be reading with former Vancouverite Chris Turnbull at the People’s Co-op Bookstore on November 23 at 7PM:

“Chris Turnbull is the author of Continua (Ottawa: Chaudiere Books 2015; Picton: Invisible Publishing 2019) and [ untitled ] in o w n (Vancouver: CUE Books 2014), one of a trio of poetry books alongside work by Heather Hermant and angela rawlings. Chapbook publications include Shingles (Vancouver: Thuja 1999); continua 1-22 (Ottawa: above/ground 2010); and The Great Canadian (Buffalo: Low Frequency Press 2015), which combines images from Turnbull’s site-specific rout/e project and text from rawling’s forthcoming echolology. Undertones, a collaborative chapbook with text/artist Bruno Neiva, is emerging with Low Frequency Press in 2019.

In addition to new work, Renee Saklikar will read from her sci-fi epic chapbooks (highly collectible!): the first chapbook 2016 by the late Martha Reed (Nous Zot Press); the second, ‘After the Battle of Kingsway. The Bees’, (2016; 2019), above/ground press (finalist for the 2017 bpNichol award); the third, by Nomados Press (2017); and the fourth, ‘from The Book of Bramah'(2019), above/ground press.”

The launch is a free event, and gets underway at 7:00 pm. Located at 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, V5L 3X5. See you there!

A glance of a thousand years, Ormsby Review

I wrote a very long review on this book of long poems (Marion Quednau’s Paradise, Later Years) and a version of it appeared on The Ormsby Review today:

“Marion Quednau, from Gibsons, has won awards for both poetry and prose, including a Smithbooks-Books in Canada First Novel Award for The Butterfly Chair (1987). With Paradise, Later Years, she now debuts her first full-length collection of long poems, prose poems, and lyrics, which read as individual poems. Divided into four sections, “Holiday,” “Nuclear Family,” “When the Power Went Out,” and the eponymous “Paradise, Later Years,” Quednau writes in long lines that spill almost into the middle gutter of the book, creating a flow-sensation so that the entire work reads as a book-length poem. Kudos to Quednau, her editors, and her publisher for releasing a book where every poem is long and lengthy in form and in theme…”

Read the Review HERE

Nov 16: Museum of Surrey Guided Writing Reflections

Join me in experiencing a wonderfully rich exhibit and then creating a word-quilt:

Gather, write, share and create with multiple artforms inspired by the feature exhibit.

Join Surrey’s former poet laureate, Renee Sarojini Saklikar, as she leads a guided writing reflection on the latest exhibit, Being: Punjabi – Unfolding the Surrey Story. After an inspired session of writing, attendees will choose a quote to write on a square of sari fabric. The squares will later be sewn into a quilt which will be displayed at the museum. 

The event is on Saturday Nov. 16, 2-3:30pm at the Museum of Surrey. Free but please register HERE:

Click Here for More Details

Lunch Poems at SFU: Chantal Gibson and Marion Quednau

 

Lunch Poems at SFU is a unique opportunity to celebrate the spoken word and is held the third Wednesday of every month, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., in the Teck Gallery at Simon Fraser University’s Vancouver Campus.

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. No fees or registration. Just bring your lunch, curiosity, open mind and love of words.

More Details Here

Play about wartime nurses returns to Museum of Surrey

Ishbel Newstead (left) and Renee Sarojini Saklikar will perform the poem-play “Canadian Nurses In Wartime” after the Remembrance Day ceremony concludes in Veterans’ Square in Cloverdale. (Photo: Surrey Now Leader)

“A play about war-era nurses is returning to the Museum of Surrey.

Canadian Nurses in Wartime will run at approximately 11:45 a.m. in the museum’s theatre—right after Remembrance Day services end at the Cloverdale Cenotaph Nov. 11.

Written by Renee Sarojini Saklikar and researched by Ishbel Newstead, the poem-play will feature both women playing different roles.

‘A poem-play is a seated reading that incorporates historical research into the narrative,’ said Saklikar. ‘We take documentary work and we merge it with imagination.’ She added she uses poetic license for dialogue, but not history.”

Read The Whole Article Here

Nov 11: Surrey Remembers

Image by the City of Surrey.

Take in the Remembrance Day service at the Cloverdale Cenotaph in Veterans Square at 10:25am. After the ceremony, warm up with activities at both the Museum of Surrey and the Surrey Archives.

At Museum of Surrey

The museum foyer will open at 9:30am with free coffee and hot chocolate. Given the ceremony outside, the full museum will only be open from 12-1pm. A temporary exhibit by Steven Purewal will be set up in the foyer, highlighting the pivotal role that Sikh soldiers played in WW1.

10:25 – The ceremony begins in Veterans Square.

11:45 – ‘Canadian Nurses in War Time’ by Renée Saklikar and Ishbel Newstead. The poem-play, written by Surrey’s former poet laurete, is an artistic response to an exhibit about Canadian nurses in war time. Research for the poem-play was by Ishbel Newstead, a dedicated volunteer with Museum of Surrey and Historic Stewart Farm.

12:30 – ‘Who Am I?’ by Adhel Arop. The film tells the story of Canadian model Adhel’s quest for identity as she reconciles with her mother’s past as a child soldier in South Sudan.

Click Here for More Details